Good Together
by snowyspemily
Summary: After giving up her first kiss to Alison and being horribly rejected, Emily is heartbroken and unsure if she ever wants to kiss anyone ever again . . . until someone changes her mind.
1. Fireworks

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and all characters belong to their respectful owners.**

Summary: After giving up her first kiss to Alison and being horribly rejected, Emily is heartbroken and unsure if she ever wants to kiss anyone ever again . . . until someone changes her mind.

Rating: T

_A/N: Hi, I'm back! Happy Holidays! :) So, here's my first real shot at Spemily. I've always been really scared to write them since I love them so much and didn't want to eff it up, but I've had this idea racing around my head since like August and I had to write it down. Ugh, I wish it was Christmas themed but sadly, it is not. Maybe next year? Anyways, here's some things you guys should keep in mind while reading this, because I changed it up a little:_

_1) Alison was Emily's first kiss  
2) Spencer has never had her first kiss  
3) Ben doesn't exist(yet?)  
4) The locker room scene between Emison and the library scene are connected. Idk if they are actually connected on the show, but for the sake of the fic, they are._

_I think that's all of the AUs here so enjoy, and I hope you like it :)_

* * *

"_If I'm kissing you, it's because it's practice for the real thing."_

To say Emily was hurt would literally have been the biggest understatement. Of all the things Alison could have said to her, that cut the deepest. She was confused, devastated and an absolute wreck on the inside, but most of all, she was heart broken – horribly and painfully so.

All she had wanted to do was get the hell out of that locker room, but of course, nothing was that easy when it came to Alison. So, she reluctantly waited for the blonde to finish - like the loyal _puppy_ she'd always been – and when she drove Ali home and finally made it to her house, she collapsed into a heap on her bed –

And cried.

She cried over the fact that she actually believed that Alison could actually want her as much as she did and she sobbed over how dumb it was for her to actually fall in love with Alison DiLaurentis, of all people. She cried because no one deserved to get played by their first love, – especially not after their first kiss – but most of all, she cried because her worst fear had come true.

She was gay. She liked – _loved_ – a girl, and she'd never felt more alone or scared in her entire life. A funny little part of her had actually been convinced that being gay wouldn't be so bad, so long as someone – _Alison_ – loved her back.

God, now what was she supposed to do?

Well, she knew the answer to that; pretend like it never happened. It was the only way to get things back to normal. Secrets are what kept you close – Ali always said that – and Alison would never break her own rule . . . would she?

Emily sat upright in her bed and wiped away the tears that were still falling down her cheeks. Alison would never tell anybody about their kiss, would she? She couldn't, after all, she was just as involved as Emily was. She let herself be kissed. She definitely wouldn't sacrifice her own name for the sake of making fun of Emily.

A strong pang shot through Emily when she realized that Alison probably would have made fun of her if she had the chance. She grabbed a pillow from her bed and hugged it to her chest as sobs wracked her body.

She'd never wanted to disappear so much in her entire life.

The vibration on her nightstand made her jump almost off her bed. She wiped her eyes – though the tears came back as soon as she did so – and grabbed her phone, praying that it wasn't Alison but secretly hoping that it was. She opened up the message and was slightly relieved to read from who it was from.

It was Spencer.

_Sleepover tonight at my house. Are you coming? :)_

If she were being completely honest with herself, the last thing Emily wanted to do was go over to Spencer's house and pretend like her heart wasn't shattered and clinking around in her chest like broken glass. Then again, she could use the cheering up. Her friends always made her happy . . . well, Alison always made her happy. Geez, did every thought always have to come back to her? She felt like a broken record player.

Oh.

Oh, crap.

Alison.

If Spencer was having a sleepover, she'd definitely be there. Emily gnawed on her lip as she contemplated a reply that wouldn't sound too weird. If she rejected, she'd have to come up with a reason. Crying in her room all night didn't sound like the ideal way to spend the night, but she couldn't go over with Alison there, mocking her with her triumphant smirk and that knowing sparkle in her cerulean eyes. Why did she love that sparkle so much?

Emily took in a shaky sigh. Part of her actually kind of did want to go now. Maybe if she just . . . it wouldn't be a rejection if she . . .

_Is Alison going?_

It was a simple question. Spencer would tell her and then she could decide on whether she should go or not. If she wasn't going, then Emily would spend a night of fun with her friends in an attempt to distract herself from the horrible ache in her chest. If she was going . . . then she guessed she'd have to deal with the ache by herself.

All alone.

In her room.

All night.

Life _sucked_.

A reply was almost instant and Emily eagerly looked down at her screen. She didn't know what she was expecting exactly, but it was way better than what she was reading.

_Yeah, she's the one who suggested it. Why?_

Of course she would suggest a sleepover. For someone who was head over heels for the blonde, Emily sure could forget how cruel Alison was. She felt even dumber now, because of all people to pose the question to, she just had to ask Spencer Hastings – possibly the most curious and intuitive person she'd ever met. She couldn't hide from Spencer – she never could – and now the brunette wanted to know why she'd asked her question. This night could not possibly get worse.

Another vibration went through her phone and Emily groaned out loud at what it could possibly be. She sighed and looked down at her phone.

_Em, if she did something to you again, I'll call it off and tell Ali to go screw herself_.

The swimmer actually felt a small smile work it's way on to her face. Her injured heart did a little leap in her chest and she felt a little better than she had all day.

Spencer wasn't always easy to deal with – she did kind of talk a lot and she was way too competitive for her own good – but she did have a heart of gold. She was the only one who wasn't too scared to challenge Alison – over Emily, on some occasions – and Emily deeply admired Spencer for that. Hell knows she needed someone on her side.

She continued smiling as she looked down at the text and sighed. If she backed down, Ali and Spencer would probably fight, and that was never a good thing, for any of them. If she said yes, though, then she'd have to deal with Alison and her pretty pink lips spewing the worst kinds of secretive insults.

The answer?

_It's ok, Spence. I'll come over_.

She sighed and dropped her phone on to the bed before running her hand over her face. She had a bit of time before it turned dark outside, so she could just physically and mentally – and emotionally – prepare herself for what she would have to deal with tonight. At least her friends would be there. At least Spencer would be there.

She looked at her phone again and picked it up without much thought, opening up her messages again.

_Thank you, btw. You're a good friend._

She didn't think she'd ever told Spencer that before, she actually didn't think anyone had told Spencer that before, but it was true and she deserved to know that. She smiled when her phone vibrated and opened the message up.

_I'm always here if you need me :)_

Maybe the sleepover wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Emily Fields had never been more wrong about anything in her life.

She'd had been the second one there – Hanna was the first – and things had gone fine. Hanna had started talking about how _The Catcher in the Rye_ was getting kind of annoying to read, to which Spencer started objecting profusely, though Emily knew for a fact that Spencer didn't like that book that much.

The argument ended with a _'Well, he's annoying and if I were his roommate, I would have punched him in the face, too'_ to which Spencer didn't reply because she actually agreed. Emily had smiled at her two friends' not too serious bickering. It was a nice distraction. And when Spencer caught her eye and smiled a smile that was just for her, she felt warm inside. Perhaps she could make it through tonight.

Aria came by a bit later and the argument about the book started up again, but Emily was full blown laughing now from the fight that broke out between Hanna and Aria. For once, Spencer was in the middle, neither liking the book as much as Aria, nor hating it as much as Hanna. It was a funny change, seeing Spencer stutter with what to say and who's side to take.

When the knock on the door came, however, the swimmer felt her stomach bottom out. She had glanced back at the door with nervous eyes and felt her palms start to sweat. Spencer had departed from the kitchen to go answer it, but Emily didn't miss the way Spencer looked back at her before she disappeared.

Surely enough, Spencer returned with the Ice Queen she was in love with. As if on cue, blue eyes trailed over to Emily and a smirk developed on her face as soon as she spotted her. Emily's throat went quite dry.

She could deal with this. This was not the end of the world. She could do this.

She watched the bewitching blonde walk over and lean over the island, mischievous smirk still in place. Her icy orbs never strayed from Emily's eyes.

"So, who wants to play truth or dare?"

Never mind, she couldn't do this. She so could not do this.

"Geez, Ali, take it easy. You just got here," Spencer countered, coming to stand beside Emily. Emily relaxed only slightly, but she was glad for Spencer's input. She looked at the brunette beside her and returned the smile she was given. It felt good having someone on her side.

When she turned back to Alison, the blonde was eyeing them strangely, but before Emily could read too much into it, the cerulean gaze was locked back onto her. The word 'predator' popped into Emily's mind and she inhaled sharply, because that made her the prey.

Thankfully, the blonde's gaze flickered away from her and back to Spencer with a challenging eyebrow raised.

"What's wrong, Spence? Afraid I'm going to dare you to go kiss Creepy Cavanaugh across the street?" Aria and Hanna erupted into a fit of giggles but Spencer simply glared back at Alison, accepting her challenge.

"I'm not afraid of anything. I just think you should cool it," Emily could feel the tension thickening between the two, and her stomach clenched strangely as she watched Alison's gaze continue to flicker between her and Spencer. She hoped the blonde didn't think she told Spencer anything. The last thing she wanted to do was make Alison angry, or get Spencer in trouble.

Alison leaned back from the counter and stood straight, still smiling. Emily just knew this wouldn't end well.

"Well, there's five of us. Aria, Hanna, wanna play?" The two girls in question looked at each other and shrugged.

"I don't mind," Aria answered nonchalantly while Hanna agreed with an eager nod. Emily almost frowned. They were never good with peer pressure. Then again, neither was she.

Alison's smile grew with her triumph, and then her attention settled back on Emily. The swimmer gulped.

"What about you, Em?" She was truly evil. Emily had figured it out at that moment. Alison was the epitome of doom because the blonde knew very well that Emily could never say no to her – not ever. She was being torn from the inside because she definitely did not, under any circumstances, want to play that damn game, but damn it, Alison had that hold on her with her beautiful, sparkling eyes and she just could not break free.

Until she felt the hand on her back.

Emily looked up at and met Spencer's calming gaze and small smile. She didn't realize how tense her body had been until she let herself relax with Spencer's touch. It helped – having Spencer's reassurance – but disagreeing with Alison did neither of them any good, despite the fact that Spencer loved doing it so much.

"Sure," Emily answered with a heavy sigh. She could feel Spencer deflate beside her, but at least her hand was still on her back. At least Spencer was still on her side.

Alison smiled triumphantly at Spencer and the brunette sighed.

"Let's go upstairs," Aria grinned and both she and Hanna started towards the stairs. Alison, however, backed away slowly from the two girls and smiled at them in that secretive way that just ignited nervousness. The two girls heard her start up the stairs, and that's when Emily finally let out the breath she'd been holding.

"You alright?" Spencer asked softly, sincerity marking her features as she watched Emily. Emily simply nodded and ran her hands down her face.

"I'm fine," She answered with a sigh and gave Spencer a small smile. "Thank you for being on my side," Spencer simply smiled back and nodded. She felt her hand fall from her back once she turned and started towards the staircase, ignoring the cold feeling the came over her, but Spencer's voice stopped her.

"Emily," The swimmer turned at the distress she heard in the girl's voice. The brunette, however, had her head pointed to the ground. She looked as if she was . . . struggling with her words. Emily was shocked. She'd never seen Spencer look so vulnerable before.

A panicked worry came over her as she waited for her friend to look up. When Spencer did finally look up, she was met with an expression that sent a chill through her. It was determination . . . and something else she just couldn't put her finger on.

"Alison, she . . . She doesn't own you, Emily," Spencer stated softly, her gaze never wavering as she watched Emily. "Please don't let her think that she does." Emily was overcome with that warm feeling again and she smiled at Spencer's sweet words. She had no idea how she ever could have thought that girl was cold. Had she known that this side of Spencer existed . . . Perhaps she would have paid a little less attention to Alison.

"Come on," Emily said with a smile, holding out her hand to Spencer. Spencer smiled back and approached her. Once she took her hand, Emily felt that same hopefulness that she encountered in her bedroom after Spencer's text. As she walked up the stairs with Spencer's hand in hers, she suddenly began to wonder if one day, Spencer's words could be true.

* * *

"Ali, truth or dare?"

"Hmm . . . Truth,"

"You think Sean might ask me out this year?"

"Hanna!"

"What, it's an actual question!" The girls all burst out laughing except for Hanna, who was still nervously awaiting a real answer from Alison. The night was going a lot better than Emily had originally anticipated after accepting the game. There were no risky questions thrown at her or any devious ploys that she could walk in to. However, her uneasiness did not leave her completely thanks to Alison's periodic glance and smirk towards her.

"You might have a shot," Alison answered nonchalantly, and Emily hated herself for swooning slightly at her cool demeanor. Then, like clockwork, Alison glanced back to Emily. Except this time, her gaze lingered. And it wasn't sweet.

"Aria," Alison started, turning away from Emily's nervous eyes. "Truth or dare?"

"Definitely truth. I am not calling the pizzeria and ordering another pizza for Mona," A few giggles resounded throughout the room, but Emily was still nervous. And she had every right to be. Alison's grin reminded Emily of someone who looked like they were going to get away with murder.

"Which one of us do you think would be gay?" Emily's heart stopped for a moment. It literally stopped, or at least it skipped a beat, because her chest clenched tightly and she felt like there was a waterfall in her ears. She clenched her hands into fists and tried to remember how to breathe, but shock and fear were choking the oxygen out of her lungs.

This was it. This was what Alison had been building up to the entire night. She was going to humiliate her in front of all her friends, and they were all going to be disgusted and leave her. This was worse than heartbreak.

This was absolute death.

"Hmm," She faintly heard Aria hum and tried to act normal, but her stomach was so knotted up she thought she was going to puke, and she was sure she was sweating like a sinner in church. She looked around their circle on the floor of Spencer's room, avoiding Alison's eyes, and found Spencer staring worriedly at her. She wanted to smile or do something to assure her friend that nothing was wrong, but she could not for the life of her make a movement because _everything_ was wrong. And it was about to get worse.

"Well, if I'm going to be honest, I'm gonna have to go with . . . And no offense here, by the way," The suspense nearly gave Emily a heart attack right then and there, but she had to stick through it. She had to fight to the end. Aria smiled playfully and nodded. "I'm going to have to say Spencer."

"What?!" Hanna threw her head back and howled with laughter at Spencer's outburst and Aria followed right after. Emily felt the largest wave of relief wash over her, so large that she actually sighed. She felt lightheaded suddenly and realized she must have been holding her breath. She could still hear her heart pumping in her ears.

"I'm sorry, Spence," Aria giggled once she mostly recovered. "But I had to tell the truth. I mean, you hardly ever have crushes on boys. It kind of makes a girl wonder," Spencer scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"The boys in Rosewood are lame," Spencer defended hotly.

"Not all the boys," Hanna murmured quietly.

"And I don't see you gushing about your crush. Who is it anyways?"

"Holden Caulfield," Hanna giggled and was promptly given a pillow to the face by the girl beside her. The room erupted with laughter again, and Emily finally started to relax. However, when she looked up and saw Alison smirking at her, her blood ran cold.

This was all a game to Ali. What she had just done was only an example of what she could do, Emily realized. Alison could toy with this anyway she wanted, and the swimmer would be helpless to stop it.

The room suddenly felt a lot smaller with Alison's smoldering gaze mocking her. She needed to get out.

"I'm going to get some water," Emily murmured, standing up quickly and staggering slightly because of it. In an instant, Spencer was up, too.

"You want me to come with?" The worried tone in Spencer's voice didn't go unnoticed by Emily, but she had no time to answer before Alison was back to her challenging self.

"I think she knows where the fridge is, unless you want to go for other reasons," Alison remarked snidely with a smirk while Hanna giggled.

"Maybe Spencer really is gay," Hanna whispered to Aria.

"Shut up," Spencer bit back at Hanna, but mostly to Alison. Emily, however, couldn't take all the mentions of gay anymore and swiftly left the room. She rushed down the stairs and paced around the Hastings' living room, trying to get her bearings back.

Coming here was a mistake. She should have never agreed to it. She knew Alison wasn't ever going to let it go, but she came anyways because she was a hopeful idiot and too damn trusting. God, when was she going to learn?

Emily felt a wave of exhaustion go through her and she made her way to the couch. She sat down and rested her face in her hands.

_Why couldn't she just like someone else? _

_Why couldn't she just be straight?_

_Why couldn't she just be normal?_

Emily didn't realize she had started to tear up until she felt her hands dampen. She wiped her face and willed herself to stop, but she never was good at obeying herself.

"Hey," She looked up and surely enough, Spencer was there with a soft but worried expression as she watched Emily from her place on the stairs.

"Hi," Emily murmured, sniffling and rubbing away any remnants of tears. Spencer came down the rest of the way and was eventually seated next to Emily, but not near enough to touch her. Emily was glad for that, she really did need the space.

"I guess I shouldn't ask you if you're okay," Spencer said softly, and Emily responded with a breathy laugh before shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Spencer. I shouldn't have come tonight. It was a mistake," Emily whispered more to herself than to her friend, but Spencer nodded either way.

"I understand," She replied and Emily smiled sadly because there was no way that she could understand. The swimmer stared at her hands, not knowing what else to say nor how she was ever going to make it up those stairs. Maybe she could tell Spencer she wasn't feeling well – there was no doubt the brunette wouldn't believe her after what she just saw. But if she left, it would just be another victory for Alison.

Life _really_ sucked.

More silence passed between them and Emily had finally decided on her excuse when she felt a warm hand envelope her own. She stared down at her hand linked with Spencer's and her stomach felt lighter. Wow, she really was gay.

"Em, I know that you and I haven't always been close," Spencer whispered, her thumb rubbing circles on the back of Emily's hand. It was such a nice, calming gesture that Emily actually sighed lightly. "But I do still care about you . . . And you should know, if you ever need someone to talk to, about anything, you can talk to me. I'm here for you,"

Spencer's words were some of the nicest and most trusting words Emily had ever heard, and mixed together with the soothing movements of Spencer's thumb and the sincere way Emily knew she was looking at her without even lifting her head to check, she couldn't help it. She started to talk.

"Has anything just ever been so bad that you thought it was going to break you?" She whispered sadly, staring at how nicely her hand and Spencer's fit together.

"Yeah, I'm familiar with the feeling," Spencer answered with a smile and Emily smiled a little too. She was glad Spencer was there for her, but she was at a complete loss at how to express how she was feeling. Then, it struck her.

"How was your first kiss Spencer?" She asked quietly, and a small silence passed between them before the other brunette used her other hand to cradle Emily's hand in both of hers. Another eruption of warmth pooled in the swimmer's stomach at the action.

"I'm still waiting for it to happen," Spencer murmured, her attention completely on Emily's hand. Emily hummed softly and smiled sadly.

"Well, mine didn't go too well," She whispered before taking in a shaky breath. "I kissed someone who didn't deserve it, and now I kind of wish I'd never kissed them . . . Or anyone," More silence passed between them, and Emily finally chanced a look at Spencer.

She had that look on her face again. That determination mixed with something she just couldn't put her finger on. She always did like it when Spencer looked determined. The way her brow furrowed and her face simply told you that she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted. Spencer's confidence always left her in awe. She really did love that about the other girl.

"Well," Spencer started with a sigh, finally looking up to meet Emily's eyes. It seemed that right at that second, Emily realized how close Spencer's face had gotten to her own. What shocked her even more was that she didn't mind it, at all.

"If you want . . ." Spencer was speaking slowly now, and Emily could finally tell what the other emotion was besides determination. It was fear. She'd never seen it on Spencer Hastings before, but she definitely recognized the look. It was the same look she probably had before she kissed Alison.

"You can have mine," Spencer whispered the last part, staring so intensely at Emily that the swimmer had completely forgotten what they were talking about. By the time she remembered what the topic was, a pair of soft lips were flush against her own.

To say she was surprised was an understatement. Never in a billion years did she think that Spencer Hastings – her friend, the brainiac of their year – would ever press her lips against her own. She was totally unprepared and blindsided, but what really got her was that she liked it. She really liked it. So much so that she found her eyes closing and pressing back the slightest bit against Spencer's lips.

It was nothing compared to the kiss with Alison. That was barely over a peck. This was . . . Well, this was a kiss. She'd never imagined Spencer's lips to be so soft and nice – Hell, she never imagined Spencer's lips at all, but part of her wished she had now.

All too soon, she felt Spencer begin to pull away and a needy desire came over her to keep the kiss going, so she did. With the hand that wasn't in Spencer's, she reached up and cupped Spencer's face and tilted her head just slightly so she could kiss her better and then it happened.

Fireworks.

She didn't think stuff like that happened in real life but wow, her whole entire being felt like the Fourth of July and she was seeing what looked like stars behind her eyes and all she knew was that she really, _really_ didn't want to stop kissing Spencer Hastings.

And it seemed like Spencer Hastings didn't want to stop kissing her, either, if the way her lips pressed eagerly against her own were any indication.

Unfortunately, oxygen soon became a problem, so with a final peck, Spencer pulled away and smiled happily at Emily. All Emily could do was blink and try to process how a kiss could make someone feel like flying. It seemed that she was staring at Spencer for a little too long and the brunette laughed a little.

"Well, now at least you can say you've had a good kiss," Spencer said, her smile widening. Emily tried to ignore the slight change in tone of Spencer's voice and how it sent chills through her and licked her lips. They tasted like strawberry. They tasted like Spencer.

Finally, Emily seemed to gain some sort of brain activity, enough to smile back at Spencer appreciatively for the kiss.

"Thank you," She said softly and Spencer laughed and looked back down at their hands.

"Trust me, it was my pleasure," Emily giggled and looked down at their hands as well. She was right.

They did look good together.

* * *

_A/N: Should I keep going?_


	2. Imagine Me & You

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and all characters belong to their respectful owners.**

Summary: Emily's first kiss was the opposite of what she'd hoped it would be, but her second kiss was everything she could have dreamed of. So, what will her third kiss be like?

Rating: **Strong T**(not really)

_A/N: I'm going to just start off bye sayiNG OH MY GOD. OH. MY. GOD. I WAS EXPECTING FOUR, MAYBE FIVE REVIEWS BUT SIXTEEN?! ONE SIX?! 16?! I WAS SO HAPPY THAT I HAVE SHOWN EVERY REVIEW I HAVE GOTTEN TO MY BEST FRIEND. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH, YOUR WORDS AND RESPONSES WERE THE BEST CHRISTMAS/BIRTHDAY PRESENT I COULD HAVE EVER GOTTEN. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU :)!_

_Okay, back to normal. I'm just really happy about the turn out for this fic, so much so that I've been thinking of how I'm going to keep it going. I'm going to go ahead and say that it'll stay in the past for maybe three more chapters before moving on but I'm not entirely sure._

_Anyways, this chapter is totally inspired by the song Sleeping with a Friend by Neon Trees. You'll see why when you get to the end ;) No real NSFW warning is needed here because there's no smut, but I mentioned **Strong T **at the top for reasons you will see if you choose to read. Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED AND FAVORITED AND READ THIS STORY. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT MEANS TO ME :) ENJOY CHAPTER TWO!_

* * *

Emily started spending a lot of her time at the pool, deciding after that night, she needed space. Her intention wasn't to distance herself from her friends – mostly, anyways – but she had started to feel a little . . . conflicted after what had happened.

One week. Seven days. Almost one hundred sixty eight hours – she actually looked that up – since she and Spencer had shared that mind blowing, overwhelming, absolutely wonderful kiss. Nothing had ever made her feel like _that_ – she'd hoped kissing Alison would, but that was just a huge flop – and it both thrilled and terrified the crap out of her. So when things scared her, she tended to take time to herself to clear things up, which was why she hadn't talked to any of her friends since that night.

Well, almost.

Of course, she got the occasional text from Aria, asking if she wanted to come over and watch a movie or sometimes Hanna would text and ask if she wanted to go get a smoothie or something. Alison, who saw nothing wrong with what had occurred between them, usually invited her to parties or asked if she wanted to go to Philly for an even better party over there. She never accepted though, not only because she didn't really want to see Alison – her wound was still raw after the sleepover, and she didn't trust Ali not to tease her about the kiss – but all the girls would be there. _Spencer_ would be there. She wasn't ready to face the brunette or deal with the flip her stomach would do every time she saw her.

So, for the entire week, Emily swam at the pool and practiced for the upcoming season – which wasn't for another few months, but practice did make perfect (at least, that's what she told herself as an excuse). Swimming calmed her and helped her think, that's why she loved it so much. She had gone there a lot to try to make herself forget about her crush on Alison, but more often than not, she went there to think about her without having to fake a smile at a party as she stared at the blonde. It was relaxing and it always helped her mind flow.

However, now it was slightly different. Her thoughts would start off with Alison – deep blue eyes, beautiful blonde hair, and mischievous smirk – and then they would transform the more laps she did. Alison's hair would turn into a darker shade, her eyes would morph into a warm brown, and her smirk would transform into a confident, but sweet smile.

Emily would have been lying to herself if she said that she didn't think about Spencer. The brunette was starting to become all she thought about, and she wasn't sure if she was upset about that. She'd also be lying if she said she didn't smile to herself whenever she thought about Spencer studying – how her eyebrows would furrow in concentration as she read – or her wardrobe – she didn't think anyone could look so cute in a blazer – or anything that made Spencer so . . . Spencer.

She had started to wonder if these feelings had always been there, if maybe they had just been hiding under her blind admiration of Alison. Then she had gotten a little scared because what if Hanna kissed her and then she started developing feelings for her, or even Aria? The swimmer wasn't quite sure if she could have imagined herself with Spencer before the sleepover, but all she could do now was picture herself with the brunette – and she really liked what her mind came up with.

Then, there was the whole gay thing again. Going from liking – _loving_ – Alison to sort of, maybe, possibly having a crush on Spencer definitely proved her fear to be true, and that should have scared her but she was finding it difficult to find something wrong when Spencer was constantly in her thoughts. It should have bothered her how easily it was to hold Spencer's hand and to imagine them being a little more than just friends, but the more she thought about it, the more she hoped one of her thoughts would become a reality.

All in all, however, she really just hoped that whatever it was that was going on with her wouldn't end in heartbreak . . . again.

Sadly, her feelings were the only things that had changed. Her last attempt at being brave and impulsive had resulted in complete failure, and successfully crushed any hope of repeating any action like that. So yes, she hadn't talked to Spencer since that night and yes, she was worried about sending Spencer the wrong signal, but how could she send the wrong signal when she wasn't even sure what signal she wanted to send, anyways?

Did she want to kiss Spencer again? Hell freakin' yes.

Did that mean that she wanted to come out? Hell freakin' no.

Could you kiss a female friend without coming out of the closet? Well, she'd done it twice now, and as far she knew, that wasn't exactly a confession.

Could you continue to kiss a female friend without coming out of the closet? See, that's where things got tricky.

She definitely missed Spencer, that much was obvious to her, but she honestly had no idea how to go about talking to her after the sleepover. Would they just go back to normal? The idea kind of bothered her – she really liked kissing Spencer – but friendship came first and she did care about the brunette immensely.

She didn't have to wait long for a sign, though. It came to her with a vibration and a flash on her phone screen. She'd gotten a text while driving home from the pool, exactly one week from the sleepover, and when she glanced down and saw the name, her heart jumped into her throat.

Emily was a very responsible driver, though, and she never texted and drove at the same time, but the desire to read the text was killing her, so, as any responsible driver would do, she pulled over to read the message. It was only nine words long, but her heart was pounding with every word her eyes looked over and she actually found herself smiling at the end of it.

_Hey, wanna come over and watch a movie tonight?_

One week. It had been one whole week since she kissed Spencer, and now the girl wanted to hang out tonight. There were signs flashing in her mind about all the things this could mean, but she couldn't find one reason why she didn't want to go.

She guessed it was because she did want to go.

She checked the time and saw that it was already almost six – geez, had she really been at the pool for that long? If she went home and showered, it'd probably be about six thirty. That was about the time night started, right? She gnawed on her bottom lip as she typed out a reply.

_I'd love to :)_

She winced and deleted the message. Way too much.

_Uh okay._

She held the delete button and sighed. She didn't want to sound like a jerk, either.

_Sounds great :)_

That was a little better. That familiar warm feeling washed over Emily whenever she thought about the brunette and the swimmer found herself almost grinning. She thought about how stupid she must have looked right now, clutching her phone and smiling like a moron in a car outside a house she didn't live in, but she couldn't find one reason to care about that either.

Then, just as suddenly as the happiness had been there, a look of realization and horror passed over her features.

_So who's coming tonight?_

How could she forget that she had other friends, or more importantly, Alison? Emily had literally been avoiding them all week, how would she deal with their inquiry? Sure, she could tell them the truth, that'd she been at the pool, but then they would ask _why_ when she wasn't even sure herself. On top of that, she didn't know if she could deal with Alison smothering her with her constant teasing and tortuous looks. As much as she wanted to see Spencer – which was surprisingly a lot – she didn't think she could take another sleepover.

Her phone vibrated in her hands and she quickly opened up the message.

_No one. Alison wanted to go to a carnival in Philly and Aria and Hanna went along with it. I said I didn't want to and they said you've been M.I.A. so I thought maybe you'd like to take a break from being missing ;)_

Emily laughed a little as she began to relax. The smiley at the end had her stomach doing those flips again, but she actually started to like them. The fact that her three other friends wouldn't be there both calmed her and made her nervous, but it wasn't a bad nervous . . . It was a good one. A nervous excited kind of feeling. _Really_ excited.

Another vibration came while she was contemplating her reply and her heart practically floated away when she read the words.

_Is that okay?_

It was a lot more than okay.

_It's super okay :)_

She sent the message without thinking and nearly slapped herself across the face. _Super okay? What are you, five!?_ Emily was almost one hundred percent sure she was blushing, and now she looked like a frowning idiot, clutching her phone and blushing, in a car outside a house she didn't live in. Maybe she should start driving now.

She groaned when she felt another vibration and reluctantly opened up the text.

_Lol great, see you soon :)_

And there went her heart again. She figured this must've been what balloons felt like, light and airy and all.

She smiled softly at her phone and placed it back in the passenger seat. Then, making sure to check her mirrors before pulling out of the curb she had parked beside, she continued on her way home.

A night with Spencer Hastings. Just Spencer Hastings.

It sounded like a nightmare for anyone who actually knew Spencer Hastings, but her knee was bouncing and she was tapping her fingers on her wheel and she found herself going slightly over the speed limit just to get home faster to get to Spencer faster because she could not think of anything she wanted to do more than spend the night with Spencer Hastings.

Well, maybe one thing, but maybe she'd get a chance to do that again later.

* * *

"How did I let you talk me into watching this horrible movie?" Emily groaned from behind the pillow she was clutching to her chest.

"Come on, it hasn't even been that scary," Spencer insisted with a laugh before she popped a few more pieces of popcorn into her mouth. Emily gaped at her, trying to ignore the images on the screen.

"Are we watching the same movie?" Spencer looked over to her petrified friend and grinned, in turn making Emily's heart race a little faster than it already was.

The swimmer had arrived at Spencer's house at around six -fifteen, after she went home and showered. She really didn't want to seem too eager, even though she was, but she honestly didn't think she could wait half an hour more to head over to Spencer's house.

That, and the more time she had with the other brunette, the better for her.

What she imagined would be an awkward evening was the complete opposite. As soon as she walked through the door, Spencer had started talking to her as if it were any normal day. She was extremely glad to hear the other girl's voice and even more glad to hear her speak without any weird tension in her words. Pretty soon, she found herself smiling while Spencer complained about her American Lit homework while making popcorn to watch a movie. It was safe to say that she missed her friend a lot more than she could have imagined.

She knew, however, that Spencer could talk her way into getting whatever she wanted – the brunette was practically known for that talent – so Emily shouldn't have been surprised when she agreed to watching _One Missed Call_, even though she despised scary movies. But Spencer was smiling at her and looking so damn adorable and between the trembling in her stomach and the fluttering in her heart, she could hardly say no.

And now, she was paying for it.

So there she was, curled up on the couch in terror while Spencer was on the other side, eating popcorn and watching the movie as if it were as boring as the news. She practically had a death grip on the pillow, and while it was doing a pretty decent job of shielding her from the horrors on screen, she kind of wished she had the guts to get closer to Spencer.

She'd seen enough movies to know how these kind of things work. Guys used horror movies to scare girls bad enough that they go to them for comfort. Not that that applied to her – though, she hoped it did – but she guessed that she was the girl in that metaphor, and she was doing a really good job. She could hardly speak besides a whine here and there. If she could just move an inch –

A loud bang sounded on screen followed by the main character being pulled off her feet and dragged across the floor. Emily jumped and put the pillow over her face. She honestly did not think she could make it to the end.

"Spencer . . ." She whined pathetically, and she would have been so disappointed in herself for sounding like such a whimp if she weren't so scared. Spencer looked over to the swimmer and her face softened with a look Emily couldn't quite decipher. She watched the brunette put the bowl of popcorn on the table in front of them and pause the movie.

"We can change the movie if you want, Em. I know how much you hate scary movies," Spencer offered with a little smirk that practically sent Emily's heart on fire. For a moment, she wondered why Spencer would put her through that torture if she knew her phobia and thought, with an excited flip of her stomach, that she may have been right about the metaphor. But this was Spencer, her best friend – _just_ her best friend. No matter how much she suddenly seemed to want it, nothing was going to happen tonight.

"It's okay," Emily squeaked quietly, glancing quickly back at the screen and looking away when she saw the creepy ghosts staring as the protagonist was dragged away. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Spencer and a small smile appeared on the girl's face before she patted the space beside her.

"Do you at least want to move a little closer?" Spencer bit her lip and tried not to smile at how quickly the swimmer's mood changed, just as Emily tried to hide her excitement at the option of being closer to the bookworm.

"Okay," Emily murmured and scooted closer to other girl. As soon as their thighs came in contact, – she was suddenly very glad to have worn shorts, since Spencer was wearing them, too – electricity shot up her body and she had to remind herself to breathe normally and not like she'd just run three miles. She hoped that Spencer wasn't watching her or noticed how much the skin to skin contact was affecting her.

Emily chanced a glance at the brunette beside her and realized that the girl was looking down at where their thighs connected. She wondered suddenly if maybe the other girl had felt it too. Of course, the rational part of her mind was telling her there was no way she felt the same, but the wishful part was hoping that she did.

_Who are you kidding? She's probably freaked out._

_Shut up_.

"You alright?" Spencer's attention had drifted back to the other girl's face and Emily had forgotten what English was for a second when her eyes made contact with warm chocolate irises.

"Y –Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Emily mentally berated herself for the slight falter but was glad that she was mostly steady. Spencer's gaze dipped down and for a second, the swimmer thought the girl was actually checking her out until she spoke.

"You're clutching that pillow harder than when you were watching the movie," Spencer said with a little laugh and Emily was starting to get upset at how sensitive she was to everything to other girl did. She didn't think crushes could be this bad.

"Sorry," She answered weakly with a small smile and loosened her grip on the pillow. She expected Spencer to start the movie again now and she mentally steeled herself for more horrifying images, but then her hand was being taken away from the pillow and held by another soft hand.

"Relax," The brunette murmured, smiling softly at the swimmer. Emily could have died from how fast her heart was pounding. "It's just a movie, all Hollywood and make-up," Spencer gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and the butterflies in Emily's stomach doubled.

"I know," Emily said with a nod and smiled a little. "Thanks," Spencer smiled back at her, and Emily was sure she imagined her friend's eyes dropping to her lips. Before she could even check again, the brunette was already reaching for the remote to play the movie, but Spencer never pulled her hand away.

They stayed like that for the rest of the movie, much to Emily's reluctant delight. Spencer casually continued to eat the popcorn, and of course, offer some to Emily, who denied any in favor of clutching the pillow and hiding her face behind it. Every time a scene was too scary, however, the brunette would give the girl's hand a reassuring squeeze and Emily would completely forget about the movie and remember that she was holding Spencer's hand.

At one point, Emily felt bold enough to toss the pillow aside when more than two minutes had gone by without any horrifying activity. Her decision was immediately regretted, however, when some horrifying, charcoal colored thing started crawling after the main character. The swimmer squeaked and hid behind Spencer's arm in an attempt to hide herself from the traumatizing images. The movie was long forgotten, however, when she inhaled the sweet smell of violets that was totally and completely Spencer Hastings. She stayed there for a while, breathing in the heavenly scent, until she realized how damn creepy she was being and pulled away. Spencer looked over to her and flashed her a playful smile, and Emily hoped to God that she didn't realize what she'd just been doing.

The movie finished on a weird – and terrifying – conclusion, in Emily's opinion, but she was glad that it was over. She despised horror movies, and yet, she couldn't really tell herself that she disliked this one so much. She would have loved to have said that she was getting over her fear, but she knew the real reason for her small change of heart.

It was still fun to pretend, though.

"Okay, let me not torture you anymore," Spencer remarked with a grin and popped out the disc with the remote. She turned completely to the girl beside her and held her hand with both hands. "So what do you wanna watch, now?" The brunette asked with a soft smile, and Emily was overcome with the same feeling as the night of the sleepover – that warm, fuzzy, tingling feeling that made everything feel intensified. She looked down at their joined hands, and it was just as she expected.

They still looked really good together.

"I dunno," The swimmer shrugged, offering her own smile. She really needed to get it together. Reluctantly, very _very_ reluctantly, she pulled her hand out of Spencer's grasp and reached over to the DVD cases to pick out a new movie, trying to ignore the sense of loss that came over her. She flipped through the different cases, and her heart nearly stopped when her eyes fell on a specific case.

The cover on the case featured two men and women side by side with their backs facing to the front of the case, but behind their backs, the two women were holding hands.

It was a gay movie. Well, lesbian, but nevertheless, Emily's heart was jumping out of her chest.

"What's this one about?" She asked quietly, hoping she didn't sound as petrified as she felt. Spencer leaned over, her face coming dangerously close to the swimmer's face, and Emily stopped breathing altogether.

"Oh," Spencer smiled and took the case from her before leaning back against the couch, and Emily finally let out the breath she'd been holding. "Well, it's about two women: one owns a flower shop and the other is getting married. The girl who owns the flower shop arranges the flowers for the other girl's wedding and they become attracted to each other the more time they spend together, but of course, there are problems, because the other girl can't be gay if she's married to her husband. It's actually a really cute movie," Spencer looked over to the swimmer with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Wanna watch it?"

What had Emily gotten herself into?

She was completely conflicted. While she didn't want to watch the movie with Spencer there, she did want to watch it out of curiosity and interest. Maybe it would help her understand why she felt like this; Maybe it would help her cope with all these . . . Feelings.

"You pick, I'll go make some more popcorn," Emily answered, putting the cases down and reluctantly moving away from Spencer. She couldn't do it, whether she wanted to watch it or not. Spencer couldn't know. No one could know.

She picked up the popcorn bowl and walked towards the kitchen, which was literally only five feet away from the living room with no doors to separate anything. She suddenly wished that the sleepover was at her house.

She placed a bag of popcorn into the microwave and watched out of the corner of her eye as Spencer flicked between the different cases. For a second, she swore that the brunette was eyeing the movie she had picked up but all too soon, the microwave was beeping and she had to pry her eyes away to get the popcorn. By the time she poured the bag into the bowl, Spencer was already popping in another movie. Emily bit her lip in frustration but ultimately let it go. What else was there to do?

"So, what'd you pick?" She asked as she walked over and sat beside Spencer again. The other girl reached into the bowl and smiled mischievously, and the butterflies that had finally left Emily alone came back with a vengeance.

"You'll see," Spencer responded with a grin, taking a few pieces of popcorn and popping them into her mouth. Emily, to say the least, was both excited and terrified. Her terror surpassed her excitement, however, when she watched the name _An American Haunting_ appear in red scribbling on the television. She groaned out loud, setting the popcorn on the table quickly and hugging another pillow to her chest.

"How could I let you do this again?" Emily muttered miserably, while Spencer laughed in delight and shot her a playful look.

"Because you love me," Emily's stomach jumped at the words, and when she looked over to the brunette, she found the girl looking at her with a look akin to adoration and, just maybe . . .

_Stop imagining things._

"Shut up," Emily murmured, both to herself and to the brunette, but Spencer simply giggled in response and grabbed a few more pieces of popcorn. The swimmer, although unhappy that she had to endure yet another horror movie, was glad that the movie she picked out wasn't being flashed on screen.

That's what she told herself, anyway.

* * *

The sleepover was both a blessing and a curse, Emily surmised. Spending time with Spencer was definitely something that she needed; she really had missed the girl and their time had been both tempting – for obvious reasons – and sweet – therapeutic, even.

However, now, it was just pure torture, because she'd forgotten the point of a sleepover: _sleeping_. Now, she was lying wide awake next to a half slumbering Spencer Hastings, trying her best not to touch her friend while simultaneously wondering what it would feel like to have her arms around her.

Despite her endless memories and daydreams of their kiss, Emily's thoughts about Spencer remained chaste, but romantic. It wasn't like she wanted to do anything . . . _Sexy_ with her friend – she didn't even have those thoughts about Alison, or anyone else – but she did want to hold her hand, and she did want to memorize the smell of her hair. Most of all, she wanted to kiss her again. Not make out, just kiss.

How could something so wrong feel so natural? It was wrong, right? She wasn't supposed to want to kiss anyone this much, let alone her best friend – her _female_ best friend – but, heaven help her, it was the only thing she was sure she would do again in a heartbeat if she had the chance. It was the only thing she was sure was right, even if it wasn't.

"I knew we shouldn't have watched those movies," Emily heard a sleepy murmur from in front of her and smiled softly. She watched as chestnut irises opened and met her eyes, and her heart did it's familiar skip. "Can't sleep?"

"Not really," She murmured sheepishly, feeling guilty that she'd woken up the girl beside her. She'd been so careful that she'd barely moved a muscle. Maybe Spencer could hear her thinking. She wouldn't have been surprised, really. She knew the brunette could rule the world if she wanted to. She smiled at the thought. "How'd you know?"

"Your breathing gave you away," The girl whispered, shifting slightly and placing a hand in front of her, right beside Emily's. The swimmer's breath hitched, but she recovered quickly and waited for the girl to continue. "Your breathing wasn't slow enough for you to be asleep,"

"Sounds like something a serial killer would say," Emily giggled and relished in the butterflies that filled her stomach when a smile graced Spencer's face. The fluttering doubled when Spencer's hand enveloped her own, and she welcomed the warm electricity that flooded her body.

"Maybe, or just a super genius," Spencer whispered with a smirk, rubbing circles on the back of Emily's hand as she held her gaze. If the swimmer wasn't almost a hundred percent sure that telepathy was impossible, she'd think that the _genius_ beside her knew exactly what was haunting her thoughts. Even so, she relished in the comforting gesture and played along.

"Sure, we'll say that," Emily hummed contentedly, watching as the brunette looked back at her. Spencer licked her lips – Emily pretended not to watch the action – and looked down at their joined hands.

"What were you thinking about?" She wondered if this was going to be one of those late night conversation where both girls revealed their deepest secrets and then went on to forget about them when the sun came up. Was she willing to risk letting loose the war in her mind for the comfort of the night?

Well, maybe a little.

"Last week," She whispered back, deciding not to say too much. She first wanted to know what the brunette thought she was talking about. Spencer's focus remained on their hands when she replied.

"What about it?"

"You know, the sleepover,"

"Hmm," Was the brunette's murmured response, but Emily wasn't sure what to make of it – until the girl smiled. "You slept with Hanna,"

"What?" Emily choked out, eyes wide as saucers. "I–I didn't sleep with Hanna, what are you–"

"Em, relax," Spencer shushed with a chuckle, entwining their fingers now instead of just holding the swimmer's hand. At the action, Emily obliged, albeit still shocked at the brunette's words. "I meant you slept beside Hanna. You know, instead of beside me," A wave of understanding hit the other girl and she gave a breathy laugh.

"I did sleep beside Hanna,"

"I felt kind of betrayed, you know," Spencer joked with a small smile, but Emily wasn't sure if she imagined the slight hurt in her voice. "We're bed buddies. I was stuck with Alison and Aria for the night, and Aria tosses around a lot," Emily laughed lightly at the quip.

"I won't leave you ever again, Spence," A small silence passed between them, both girls focused now on their intertwined hands. Spencer let out a small sigh and finally looked at Emily, whose breath caught once more at the familiar look of determination the brunette had on.

"You're talking about the kiss," Spencer murmured quietly, her eyes never leaving her friend's. Emily's heart sped up at the statement but she nodded.

"Yeah, I am," This was uncharted territory for the swimmer. She had no idea what to expect, and Spencer's face wasn't giving her any hints. She looked so brave, and yet so

. . . scared. What was she scared of? If anyone was supposed to be scared, it should have been Emily.

"What's been on your mind about it?" What _hadn't_ been on her mind about that moment? She could have answered in about a million different ways, perhaps talked about how she wished she could relive the moment over and over because there was no way she could ever get tired of it. But one question came to the forefront, one that had plagued her every time she replayed the heavenly moment in her head.

"Why?" Emily asked, barely above a whisper. Why would the brunette kiss her, with her first kiss, nonetheless? Was it out of pity? As nice as that would have seemed at the time, the swimmer truly hoped that wasn't the reason. She could be pathetic, but that was just over the top. Was Spencer feeling just as bad that day and looking for comfort? She had argued with Alison, but it would have been an oddity if she didn't argue with the blonde, so that couldn't have been it. Maybe, just maybe, the brunette feels –

No. She wouldn't allow herself to entertain those lies. She'd only regret them in the end.

"I'm not sure," Spencer answered with a sigh, turning her eyes back to their hands. "It seemed like the right thing to do at the time," She said with a smile and a shrug. Emily stared at the girl in disbelief. There was no way it was that easy.

"But it was your first kiss, Spencer," The swimmer stressed, her eyebrows scrunching together. "I thought you would have wanted to share that with someone special,"

"I did share it with someone special," Spencer insisted with a smile, and Emily's heart fluttered at the statement. "Emily, I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else but you, don't you ever think otherwise."

This was dangerous, the swimmer knew. The words were making her feel things she knew would hurt her later. But she kept listening. She'd wonder later when she became a masochist.

"You told me that day that your first kiss wasn't everything you wanted it to be, so I guess I kind of thought that if I gave you my first kiss, it would kind of even it out. I only hope that it was as great for you as it was for me . . . Was it?" Spencer's hopeful gaze melted her heart and she smiled at the sight.

"It was," She whispered quietly as the warm feeling that always engulfed her when she was around the brunette coursed through her body. A comfortable silence passed between them before Spencer moved a bit closer, and Emily could see her face completely. It was a fleeting thought, but at that moment, the swimmer was sure she could watch the brunette the whole night and never get tired.

"I'd do it again, you know," Spencer murmured with a smile, pulling Emily's hand closer to her chest but never stopping the motions with her thumb. The swimmer's heart sped up, but to her surprise, so did the brunette's. Had she really heard that right? "Only if you'd let me, though,"

Emily almost wanted to laugh out loud at the statement. Only if she'd let her? Here she was, restraining her thoughts, but Spencer was perfectly fine with doing it again.

Oh, but only if she let her, though.

A silence passed between them, with Spencer cradling Emily's hand while Emily watched her with a racing mind. Her throat and stomach tightened with a nervous excitement that she couldn't quite explain. Nothing was going to happen, she was certain.

Almost certain.

"Is it okay that I said that?" Spencer whispered self -consciously, refusing to make eye contact now with the swimmer.

"It was more than okay," Emily murmured back with a smile that the brunette in front of her returned. This was definitely dangerous territory, and if she weren't certain that things would probably go back to normal in the morning, she wouldn't even contemplate the words she was about to say. Honesty was always the best policy, however, and unfortunately, she could never be anything less with Spencer Hastings.

"I wish you would kiss me, sometimes," It was barely above a whisper, but it was still enough to have chocolate orbs look up at her in surprise. Emily took in a deep breath. There was no going back now, might as well go big or go home. "Most times, it's all I can think about. It's always on my mind. " Emily licked her lips and almost died when she watched those eyes look down at the action and look back up. "Like right now,"

She heard an intake of breath from the girl in front of her, and suddenly wondered if saying any of that was some horrible mistake. But then Spencer scooted closer to her, so much so that she could feel the brunette's breath on her skin.

"Can I kiss you?"

Clearly it wasn't a horrible mistake.

In a million different ways, she'd imagined this moment. Heart pounding, excitement and impatience pumping in her veins while her breath mingled with the brunette's as their gazes locked before a mind blowing kiss. And every time she imagined this moment, her answer was always the same.

"I wish you would," Emily could hear blood pumping in her ears after what she had whispered, but all she could do was stare back at the girl in front of her, who was looking at her with an indescribable expression. Her nerves were on fire, and she was sure her heart was ready to burst from how fast it was beating, but she couldn't stop staring at Spencer.

There was light coming in from the window – she wasn't sure if it was a streetlight or even the moon – that illuminated the brunette's features and showed her blown pupils and bright, chestnut eyes. Her mouth was open very slightly, but her breaths were soft and shallow, as if she was just as nervous. Her hair was doing that thing where it was crazy and unkempt and not at all Spencer Hastings, but all Emily could think was how beautiful she was at that moment. It was so silly and corny, but she couldn't help herself. She was so enamored that she hadn't even realized when she had started moving in until she met a soft pair of lips that sent tingles throughout her whole body.

It was a barely there kiss – her lips had only brushed against Spencer's – but then there was a hand on the back of her head and she was kissing Spencer Hastings completely. Her nerves sparked every time she met the girl's lips and she felt like she was absolutely melting. Spencer's lips were soft and sweet – just like she remembered – and with every single kiss, she could feel the fireworks exploding behind her eyes and through her system. But what started out as sweet, small kisses quickly became something more – something needy and heavy.

Somewhere along the way, Emily had gotten bolder and placed a hand on the other girl's hip, but Spencer's kisses were relentless – not that Emily was complaining. The brunette paid extra attention to the swimmer's bottom lip and, out of shock and pleasure, Emily let out small moan and gripped her hip tighter. She could feel Spencer's pushing against her, urging her back while she kissed her breathless, and soon enough, the brunette was mostly on top of her, supporting her body with one hand while the other remained in Emily's hair.

The swimmer ran her hands up Spencer's back, feeling the muscles arch towards her hands. Spencer's shirt wasn't much of a barrier, Emily realized, and she could feel how hot the girl's skin was against her fingertips. She gripped the back of the girl's shirt suddenly when she felt the brunette nip her lower lip and lick the area lightly and she nearly let out another moan. It was getting too heavy for her – for both of them – she knew, but she couldn't find a reason to care. The warm feeling pooling just below her stomach made her whole body flare up, and she wanted more of it. She wanted more of Spencer.

The brunette above her began to trail lingering kisses across Emily's cheek and down her neck, making the girl's breath hitch. She could feel Spencer's lips against her pulse point and each breath in between the kisses she left on her skin, and Emily swore she was going to pass out from how fast her heart was beating. She could feel the moans threatening to spill from her lips the lower Spencer went, and she was so focused on the girl's lips that she hardly realized where the hand that was in her hair had gone.

The moment that Spencer kissed and nipped her collarbone was the same moment she felt her cool fingertips lightly caress the skin of her stomach, leaving butterflies on the skin they touched. By now, the warm feeling below Emily's stomach had turned into a flame, the flames only growing the more Spencer touched her. She could hardly hold back the moan that escaped her lips.

"Spencer," She half whispered, half moaned, her heart thundering in anticipation the higher the brunette's hand went. Until it stopped. Spencer's hand paused just above her belly button, and her kisses ceased to continue. Emily opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them until then, and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Has she done something wrong?

"I'm sorry," Was the apology she heard whispered against her neck, that also sent chills down her spine. Emily loosened her grip on Spencer's shirt, knowing in the back of her mind that it would be wrinkled, and watched the brunette lift her head. She resisted the urge to run her finger along Spencer's lips, which were now a little redder than before, as she caught her breath and stared up at the girl that made her heart soar.

"Is everything okay?" She asked timidly, still a little breathless and not entirely sure why Spencer had stopped kissing her. As far as she knew – and felt – things had been going fine. _Really _fine. Spencer smiled down at her, just as breathless as the swimmer, and Emily's stomach did it's familiar little jump.

"Too much too soon," She whispered, removing the hand from under the girl's shirt and running her thumb along Emily's cheek. It was such a feather-light touch and so soft, and Emily's heart was stuttering in her chest at the feeling and at how sweetly Spencer was looking down at her. She nodded slowly in agreement, though it was reluctant. She wouldn't have minded going a little further, but all her thoughts fell apart when she felt those soft, mesmerizing, breath-taking lips meet hers in a sweet kiss.

The kiss ended all too soon – in Emily's opinion – and Spencer moved away from her and returned to her side of the bed. The swimmer watched as the brunette comfortably rested on her back before looking over to her with a smile. She reached for her hand and gave it a tug, asking her wordlessly to move closer. Emily smiled at the action and began to scoot over until she was flush against the other girl. She felt Spencer's hand on her back, and suddenly, she was using Spencer's chest as a pillow.

She'd never been this intimate with anyone before. Kissing was one thing but this felt so much more than that. She could hear the other girl's heart beating soothingly against her ear while Spencer's hand moved up and down along her back. All the adrenaline from their kisses seemed to fade instantly – though, she wouldn't have minded restarting all of it – and if she were being honest, she actually preferred this. This felt right – it felt _real_. She wondered how real it would feel in the morning and then frowned, deciding to deal with that when she woke up. Right now, she would enjoy Spencer's warm embrace and steady heartbeat.

"You know, for someone who's only kissed two people," Spencer murmured into her hair, her hand running down through the length of it now. "You're a really good kisser." Emily laughed into Spencer's chest, and shook her head.

"For someone who's only kissed _one _person," Emily whispered back, smiling at the fact that she'd been the only person Spencer had ever kissed and reveling in the warm feeling that washed over her as she thought about it. "You're an amazing kisser." She could feel Spencer laugh more than she heard her and grinned to herself.

"I watch a lot of movies," Spencer said nonchalantly, but Emily could clearly hear the smile in her voice. She bit her lip to keep from giggling.

"Well, they definitely paid off," Emily murmured, twirling her finger on the fabric of Spencer's shirt. She heard the girl sigh contentedly above her and smiled, cuddling just the slightest bit closer. If she got any closer, she thought with amusement, her and Spencer would probably become one. Emily and Spencer. Spencer and Emily.

They sounded good together.

"Goodnight, Em," She heard the girl whisper above her and smiled, placing her arm across the girl's stomach and holding her close.

"Goodnight, Spence,"

_So much for nothing sexy._

* * *

_A/N: ;)_


	3. You're Fine and You're Mine

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and all characters belong to their respectful owners.**

Summary: Spencer and Emily are forced back into reality, but not without a few kisses here and there. Oh, and trouble, too.

Rating: T

_A/N: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUUUUUU ALL FOR THE AMAZING REVIEWS AND FOLLOWS AND FAVORITES! You guys honestly have no idea how surprised and absolutely happy I am with the turn out of this story. I'm so happy you're all liking it, I just don't think I'll ever not be shocked, but you should all know how much I love your words and acts of encouragement :)_

_Anyways, I know it's been a year since I've updated (New Years jokes keep me young), and my time for updating has been stalled a little by school, but don't worry, because this is DEFINITELY NOT getting abandoned. I refuse to let a Spemily story go down. That and I kind of love where it's going so far. But to make up for my few weeks of silence in this story, I give you 10,000 words of Spemily :) probably the most I've ever written for one chapter, but I couldn't bear splitting it in two. Hopefully by early February, I'll have chapter 4 up, which might end up being just as long (oops), but we'll see right?_

_Also, kudos to the person who guessed about Spencer's P.O.V. appearing in this chapter. And here I thought I was being inconspicuous :( Okay, I'm done, have fun reading! :)_

* * *

The school was always open during the summer for students who wanted to take advantage of using the sports areas while there were no classes – despite how dangerous it was for a school to leave most of its doors completely open. Not a lot of people took advantage of the opportunity to practice, which was why it was so great for Spencer, who was never one to ignore amazing opportunities when they presented themselves – emphasis on amazing.

She decided to spend only two hours on the school's field, since Hanna had texted her and asked her to go to the mall to buy something for a party that Alison had invited them to that morning. If the normal Spencer had been present, she could have argued that practice had gone a little awry and that she needed way more than two hours. She'd missed the goal at least six times – that was six times more than she was used to – but normal Spencer hadn't been present for about two weeks now.

Happy Spencer had taken her place.

And it was all thanks to Emily Fields.

Tall, tan, beautiful, perfect, stunning, divine, alluring, pulchritudinous – she'd been studying straight out of the dictionary now for the PSAT – Emily Fields.

To say she'd been walking on air was an understatement; she was absolutely soaring by now. She couldn't remember ever being this happy in a long time, and her newfound happiness was making her do things she simply did not do, like write poetry – she loved reading it, but _damn_ did she suck at writing it – and sing.

Spencer Hastings did not sing.

Ever.

But Happy Spencer Hastings brought a mini radio with her to the school and was humming and singing to music while she changed into her extra clothing.

And if she were being completely honest with herself, she liked being Happy Spencer more than she liked being Normal Spencer. She hoped against hope that Happy Spencer was here to stay. She hoped that Emily would help Happy Spencer stay.

The two of them had a lot to talk about she knew, and she was completely committed to having that talk. She could only imagine what was going through Emily's mind after everything that had happened, and although she wanted to spend almost every waking minute with the girl, she did know that she needed her space to process everything. That, and she had no idea how to explain her actions to the girl without totally giving her feelings – what Emily hadn't figured out, anyways – away.

She'd figured out pretty early on that Emily was head over heels for Alison – _unfortunately_ for her – but she was starting to feel that maybe, just maybe, the swimmer's feelings were starting to change towards Alison – and towards herself. She might have gone a little overboard with that make-out session during their sleepover, but she'd been thinking about Emily's lips since she'd kissed them – and way before that – and the swimmer's words towards her were too much to ignore.

Plus, Emily was definitely not complaining, and that was something that Spencer thought about constantly. But again, she would give Emily the time and space she needed and take things slow, maybe save the make-out sessions for a later date. For now, she would just try to be the good friend she always tried to be and have that much needed talk with the other girl when the time was right.

"_Alright, now, we're gonna head back in time to the good old days, and play one of the classics. An oldie but a goodie by Redbone_," The DJ's voice from the radio station began to drown out as a familiar song played out through the little radio's speakers. Spencer pulled her shirt over her head and smiled, shrugging her shoulders to the beat as she grabbed her brush. Initially, she'd intended to actually brush her hair, but the little wooden object ended up as a makeshift microphone while Spencer sang along to the song.

"_Hey, hey, what's the matter with your head? Ye-eh-ah. Hey, hey, what's the matter with your mind and your sighing and a _–_ oh, oh, oh,_" Spencer sang loudly, twirling around and dancing embarrassingly, but it wasn't as if anyone was watching her, so the more embarrassing, the more fun.

"_Hey, hey, nothin's the matter with your head, baby find it, come on and find it. Hell, with it baby, 'cause you're fine, and your mine and ya look so divine._" Spencer jumped on to the bench of the locker room, holding her hair brush up high and singing straight into the wooden stick.

"_Come and get your love!"_

"Wow, taking those moves to prom, Spence?"

Spencer nearly fell off the bench from how quickly she turned around at the voice. Alison was there, leaning against a locker at the end with her arms crossed and smirking and Spencer felt a lump rise in her throat. She wasn't scared of Alison, but she hated when the blonde had that smirk on her face – like she knew something she wasn't supposed to and she was going to bury you with it.

"Training to be a stalker, Alison?" Spencer retorted smartly, quickly jumping off the bench and shutting the music off. She looked over at Alison, trying to prove that her gaze didn't intimidate her, but for a second, she saw a flash of fear across Alison's features before they returned to their usual malice. She pushed what she saw to the back, deciding to question that when the blonde wasn't being annoying.

"I guess all those dance lessons our parents made us take didn't pay off." The blonde snarked, her smirk growing. Spencer rolled her eyes and put her hair brush back into her locker.

"Did you come here to make fun of my dancing or did you actually want something?" Spencer could practically hear herself fall right into a trap after asking the question, but she needed to know. Alison's smirk widened into a smile, and Spencer couldn't help but think about a cat that just caught a mouse.

"How's Emily?" The brunette's blood ran cold at the mention of the other girl's name. She inhaled sharply and looked away, trying to gather her composure. It didn't matter, of course, because Alison saw right through her. She'd been caught.

"How should I know?" Spencer muttered, gazing inside her locker and avoiding Alison's gaze at all costs.

"Well, you guys were together yesterday, weren't you?" The brunette's heart began to thunder in her chest, but she steeled herself and planned another snarky retort – until the blonde beat her to it. "And don't give me any of that stalker crap again; you two are way too obvious. Did you forget I live right next to you and was getting ready to go out?" Spencer mentally berated herself for forgetting that little detail. Even so, she kept her chin up and defended herself and, more importantly, Emily.

"We just had a sleepover. Not all of us always want to get dragged along to those frat parties and then make a run for it when the cops break them up."

"Excuse me for trying to have a little fun. Hanna and Aria seem to like them just fine." Alison answered with a shrug, moving closer and taking a seat on the bench, crossing her legs and leaning back comfortably. "But I guess you two are a little . . . _Different_." She emphasized with a mischievous smile, tilting her head to seem innocent. Spencer clenched her jaw but didn't turn to look at her. She wouldn't give Alison the pleasure of seeing her just the slightest bit intimidated.

"Sorry to disappoint." Spencer answered, pretending to turn something over in her locker. She heard Alison laugh to herself, and the brunette had to use all her willpower not to turn around and smack her.

"You should be thanking me, you know," The blonde said smugly, inspecting her nails casually as if they were talking about the weather. Spencer spun around, eyebrows raised in disbelief. She was so shocked that she was actually smiling.

"For what?" She laughed out, crossing her arms and putting on a sarcastic look of interest as she listened.

"Had it not been for me, she wouldn't have come running into your _loving_ arms," Alison answered, looking up from her nails and smiling slyly at the brunette, who inhaled sharply.

"She didn't come running to me," Spencer muttered, looking away from the blonde once more. She knew what was coming next, and she steeled herself for what she knew that blonde was going to say.

"She kissed me, in case you didn't know, but I'm sure with all the time you two have been spending together, she told you all about it." Alison boasted, her devilish smile growing while Spencer's jaw clenched once more. The blonde observed Spencer's rigid posture and facial features and rolled her eyes. "Spencer get over it. I'm sure you two have played enough saliva soccer for her to forget about it."

"You're so gross," Spencer commented with disgust, and turned back around, trying to hide the obvious blush that was crawling up her neck. Alison gave a fake pout and stood, moving closer to the brunette.

"Cheer up, Spence. You don't have to play coy with me," The blonde sarcastically soothed, standing beside the brunette while Spencer ignored her as best as she could and stared into her locker. "Don't forget, I know exactly how you feel about Emily. The longing looks, the idiotic smiling, I've seen it all." She said with a sigh, twirling a piece of Spencer's hair distractedly. "I knew exactly how you felt even before I found you crying over her." The blonde smiled with fake sincerity, but Spencer was fuming on the inside. She was ready to explode. "I did this for you." That last sentence lit the fuse.

"I'm not charity case, Alison," Spencer answered loudly, turning to face the blonde. Alison's eyebrows raised at the aggression in the brunette's voice, clearly amused. It only pushed Spencer further. "And Emily isn't some toy you can just give to me because you're tired of playing with her. She's a person, a real human being, and the only reason I put up with all the crap you put her through was because I knew how she felt about you. So don't pretend that you did any of this for either of us." The brunette snarled, her face cold and biting as she breathed deeply and challenged the blonde to talk back to her. Alison, for once, said nothing, only stared back at the brunette calmly. Spencer shook her head and looked back to her locker.

"You're Alison DiLaurentis," She muttered, holding on to the door of her locker. "And everything you do is for yourself."

Spencer chanced a glance at Alison out of the corner of her eye and almost believed that she saw her eyes brimming with what looked to be tears. But, just as soon as she saw them, they were gone, and she was met with a familiar, menacing glare.

"Make sure you're ready by seven to go out tonight. And wear something hot. I don't want to show up with someone dressed like a Republican." Was all Alison told her before she walked away, her steps even and light as they faded. Spencer exhaled angrily, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

What had she just done? Getting into fights with Alison never ended well for her, she knew that very well. Despite the fact that she hated submitting to the blonde, it's what kept her secret safe. She let her temper get the best of her, and she hated the fact that she felt a little guilty about the things that she'd said. More than that though, she hated the fact that Alison was running around knowing about things that she shouldn't know about.

And now, Spencer had made her angry.

The brunette slammed her locker shut, the noise reverberating around the empty locker room. She grabbed her things and sent a quick text to Hanna that she was on her way over to her house before she began to walk out of the locker room.

Hopefully, the shopping trip with Hanna would ease her thoughts.

But she knew what they said about hope.

* * *

_When Emily opened her eyes and saw Spencer lying beside her, she automatically closed them again, thinking that it was probably one of the many dreams she'd had in the past week. She shuffled closer to the warm body, enjoying how real her imagination felt as she wrapped her arms around the brunette beside her. She felt Spencer adjust her position before she felt soft fingertips brushing hair out of her face._

_"Good morning." She heard the girl whisper, and inhaled the minty breath. Her dreams were getting more detailed by the day. Emily opened her eyes slowly again and found the warm chocolate from the night before staring at her adoringly. She smiled, relishing in the familiar flutter of her heart, before closing her eyes again._

_"You're so pretty." She murmured, more than half asleep, and sighed as she felt the hand that brushed the hair from her face on her hip. She heard the girl beside her laugh softly while she soothingly rubbed the skin that Emily's shirt didn't cover._

_"Thank you," Spencer whispered, kissing the tip of Emily's nose. "You're very pretty, too." Emily's eyebrows furrowed as soon as Spencer's lips left her nose, and she could hear the brunette laughing again. "What?"_

_"That felt very real for a dream." Emily muttered, her senses starting to kick in better as she realized how realistic her dream was. Did all that chlorine finally get to her?_

_"Em," Spencer breathed, and the swimmer could her trying to hold back her laughter. "This isn't a dream."_

_"Hm?" Emily hummed, moving closer, her eyes feeling a little less heavy._

_"This is real. Open your eyes," The swimmer did as she was told and was met with the same soft irises that she thought she'd been dreaming about. A smile graced Spencer's face and Emily's stomach woke up immediately. "Hi." Spencer whispered, her smile growing the more she watched the swimmer come into realization. Emily blinked about five or six times before her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with the sheets between them._

_"Oh my gosh," She mumbled through the sheets, causing Spencer to let out even more laughter._

_"Good morning to you too, sunshine," Spencer said with a blissful smile, and if Emily weren't so embarrassed, she would have returned it wholeheartedly. Right now, however, she wanted to slap herself._

_"I'm so stupid," She muttered, closing her eyes in disbelief._

_"I thought it was cute," The brunette insisted, watching with amusement as the swimmer shook her head. Spencer could practically hear the other girl mentally reprimand herself, and she only found her even more endearing._

_"I called you pretty," Emily groaned, opening her eyes and scrunching her eyebrows together. Spencer pouted playfully at her words._

_"Am I not pretty?" She asked, faking the hurt in her words. Emily felt her stomach flutter at the playfulness and wondered briefly why it had taken her so long to get to know this side of Spencer Hastings._

_"I could have used a better word," The swimmer affirmed, her eyes dipping uncontrollably when Spencer licked her bottom lip. She would remember to berate herself later about it or maybe not at all, considering the way Spencer was smiling at her from the action._

_"Like?" Emily's eyes widened in panic at the question. She knew that Spencer had read more books than she could ever imagine, and if she knew Spencer, the girl was probably already practicing for the PSAT, which was months away. It wasn't like she didn't know any synonyms for the word 'pretty', but she wanted to impress the brunette in front of her, who was presently staring at her with a look that set her heart on fire. _

_Right now, however, she couldn't even think of a three-lettered synonym for 'pretty' if she tried. That, of course, she could blame on Spencer, for turning her brain to mush._

_"Like . . . Beautiful," Okay, that was one. "Attractive . . . Lovely," __**Not bad**__, Emily thought to herself. __**Not good but not bad. **__Spencer watched her in delight as she struggled and decided that perhaps she would stop letting the girl torture herself._

_"Would you say I'm gorgeous?" She asked coyly, batting her eyelashes for extra effect. Emily relaxed a little and smiled behind the sheets against her lips._

_"Yes,"_

_"And bewitching?"_

_"Absolutely," Emily giggled, actually enjoying the game now._

_"Would you say I'm . . . Captivating?"_

_"Mhm,"_

_"What about . . . Pulchritudinous?" Spencer laughed as she watched Emily's eyebrows furrow in confusion again._

_"What does that mean?"_

_"It means to be beautiful." Spencer answered, moving closer to Emily, who's heart leapt in her chest._

_"Oh, well in that case, you are very, very pulchritudinous, Spencer Hastings," Emily mumbled through the sheets, smiling widely as Spencer giggled._

_"My, my Emily, who knew you had such a vibrant vocabulary," The brunette joked, her hand moving from Emily's hip and to the sheet separating their faces. Emily almost frowned, but the way Spencer was looking at her kept her from doing anything but smiling._

_"It's one of my many talents," Emily quipped, and realized suddenly, that they were flirting. This was what flirting felt like. This playful joking with just a hint of something more was exactly what flirting was, and judging by the way Spencer had suddenly moved closer to her, she could feel that the something more was coming up now._

_"Oh?" Spencer whispered, lowering the sheets from Emily's lips and watching them with interest. Emily's breath caught in her throat as she watched the chocolate irises meet her eyes again. "And what are your other talents?"_

_She watched excitedly as Spencer's eyes closed while she began to move in, and just as she was about to meet her lips in what she knew would be an amazing kiss, a blaring sign flashed in her head and she pulled away abruptly. _

_Spencer had definitely brushed her teeth. _

_She __**had not**__._

_Spencer opened her eyes in confusion, lips still slightly puckered, and Emily wanted nothing more than to kiss that cute expression on her face, but she opted to instead raise the sheets to her lips once more._

_"Is there something wrong?" Spencer asked, her eyebrows scrunching together now._

_"Morning breath," The swimmer mumbled sheepishly, making Spencer smile before letting out a laugh._

_"Emily, I don't care about that. I just woke up brushed my teeth out of habit, that's all. I'm sure your breath smells fine."_

_"Well, just in case it doesn't, I'll be right back," Emily said and watched as Spencer's face turned into a real pout. Her heart fluttered at the sight and she couldn't help but smile. One little kiss wouldn't hurt. _

_In one swift motion, Emily gave Spencer a quick peck on the lips, sheet still covering her lips, and pulled away._

_"I'll be right back, I promise," By now, Spencer was smiling at her silliness but nodded eagerly as she watched Emily leave the bed and head into the bathroom._

"Em?" Emily snapped out of her thoughts as Aria's voice came into focus. She looked up and saw the shorter girl approach their booth with two smoothies.

"Sorry," She apologized with a sheepish smile, taking her frozen treat from the girl's hands. "Just zoned out."

"I see that," Aria answered with a smile. "You've been doing that a lot."

"Really?" Emily asked absently, her mind still on her thoughts mostly. "I didn't notice." Aria laughed quietly to herself.

"I see that, too." She murmured, taking a sip from her strawberry smoothie. Emily stared down at her own frozen drink and began to stir it, her head resting in her other hand as her mind drifted once more.

Spencer Hastings. Of all the people in the world who could have changed the downward spiral she was falling through, it had to be her. If someone had told her that this was how it was going to play out, that this was how she was going to _finally_ get over Alison, she probably would have looked at them as if they had grown two heads and started juggling with five feet – or something just as strange.

Emily bit her lip and smiled to herself. It had to be her. She'd thought about that a lot during her week of nonstop swimming at the pool. She'd tried to switch Spencer's face with any other girl's, – Hanna, Aria, that girl on her swim team who always smiled at her for a little too long - and yet, none of them fit. And if she were being honest, she kind of didn't want them to.

The harder part was understanding why. Why not continue to pursue Alison and forget about Spencer? The answer to that was simple – the breathtaking kiss. But then came the next question: why had she let herself be kissed? Why did she let Spencer lean into her, why didn't she protest when she realized how close their faces were?

Why didn't she pull away?

That answer came to her that morning in the shower, after she'd gotten the text from Aria to hang out with her – and also after she'd left Spencer's house with a big, silly smile on her face.

Alison and Spencer were two sides of the same coin. Both of them were smart, domineering, and competitive to no end. It was no wonder why they were always clashing about something. But no matter how much Spencer could match Alison's personality, she was not Alison.

Spencer could be cold, and conniving, and indifferent, but she could also be sincere, and kind, and loving. It took Emily far too long to see all the things that the other brunette had done for her or to defend her. She'd always just thought that it was just Spencer being Spencer – trying to find a way to piss off Alison in any way possible. But the more Emily thought about Spencer, the more she realized that she'd been the subject of most of their arguments.

Whenever Alison pressured Emily into flirting with a boy, Spencer was there to tell her to back off. Whenever Alison forced Emily to drive her around, Spencer was there to remind her that she wasn't Alison's dog. Whenever Alison was there to put Emily down for whatever reason, Spencer was there to help keep her up.

Spencer had always been there.

And she had always been too blind to realize that.

However, when she did realize that, a giddy, overwhelmingly happy feeling overcame her to the point where she had squealed in the shower. Spencer had done all those things for her, meaning that maybe – just maybe – the brunette had feelings for her for a while now. The guilt hit her soon after, because if Spencer did have feelings for her, than she must have suffered quite a bit while watching her pine over Alison. At least now, she thought with a wide smile, they could make each other happy. They were already making each other happy, she reminded herself with a blush, in more ways than one.

And her newfound happiness wasn't going unnoticed either, unfortunately for her. She had figured that out a little too late when she looked up at Aria and saw a skeptical look on her friend's face. Her smile drooped and she looked away immediately.

Busted.

"What's up with you?" Aria asked curiously, stirring her drink as she watched the swimmer with eyes slightly squinted in question. Emily gave a small shrug and shaped her face to look indifferent.

"Nothing's up," She answered nonchalantly, looking down to the table. She could tell, even without looking up, that Aria wasn't buying it.

"Really?" The girl asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because you've been smiling and giggling to yourself all day, not to mention checking your phone like it's an addiction." Crap, she was definitely busted.

"I'm just happy, that's all," Emily said with a shrug, trying not to sound guilty. It seemed that the odds were against her, however, because her phone decided to vibrate at that moment with a new text message. She glanced over at her phone to see who the message was from and her lips betrayed her with a smile. A grave mistake.

"Very happy," Aria added with a smirk as she watched Emily's reaction to the text. "But for what reason?" Emily looked up from her phone and her smile faded once more. She looked away again and shrugged with a shake of her head. Aria eyed her carefully, and then her eyes lit up with realization and a smile. "I knew it!" Emily looked over to her out of the corner of her eyes, trying to mask her worry. There was no way the other girl had figured it out. No one knew, not even Alison. "You met someone, didn't you?" Crap.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Emily admitted, mentally berating herself for faltering.

"Oh come on, Em, it's just me! You know you can tell me, I won't say a thing." Aria promised, making a zipper motion across her mouth. Emily took in a deep breath and actually thought about this issue. She knew she couldn't tell her about Spencer - that was just out of the question. However, was there anything really wrong with telling her friend that she had a crush? If she were being honest, Emily was absolutely dying to tell someone about what she was feeling, someone who would probably squeal as much as she would. And fortunately for her, she'd known Aria long enough to know that she was quite the squealer.

"Okay," Emily relented with a smile. She bit her lip and shook her head, not believing what she was about to say. She leaned in closer to Aria, who leaned in as well to hear the whispered words. "I met someone." As expected, the girl in front of her squealed in absolute delight.

"I knew it! You looked like Spencer when she gets back her tests," At the mention of Spencer's name, Emily laughed lightly as she felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach. She looked down at the table and smiled to herself, trying and failing to get herself under control. She should have figured, however, that after telling Aria the truth, the girl would want to know more. "So, anyone I know?" Emily took in a steadying breath and shook her head, finally looking up, but not at Aria.

"You don't know them." She answered briefly, making sure to use neutral pronouns. Just because she didn't want Aria to know it was a girl didn't mean she wanted her to think it was a guy.

"Aw, come on, Em! Who's the lucky guy?" She should have also figured that Aria would absolutely jump to the conclusion that it was a guy, pronouns or not. She wasn't sure if she was glad that the girl thought she was straight or upset because she was hiding something from her friend, but the drop in her stomach at the assumption made her more than just a little uncomfortable.

"Sorry, Aria," Emily said with a smile, to which Aria returned with a pout. She seemed to get over it immediately, because that intense curiosity came back on to her face.

"Okay, fine, but you have to tell me everything. How did you two meet? Was it here, or was it at a party? Is he nice? Is he cute? Oh God, please tell me he's cute," Emily laughed at the burst of questions, but was mostly glad that she was able to talk about it with one of her friends – even if she was partly lying.

"He's very cute," She answered with a smile, her mind immediately forming the image of Spencer from that morning, how she had laughed at her with bright eyes while staring at her with a look that melted her whole being.

Aria's torrent of questions came to a pause when her phone vibrated on the table. She gave a small 'ugh' and looked up at Emily, holding a finger towards her.

"This isn't over," She warned playfully, to which Emily nodded with a smile. She let Aria open up her message and watched as the girl's eyebrows furrowed. "Hanna just sent me a picture of a sundress she wants to buy. I swear I saw that dress when we were on the third level. You think she's here?" Aria asked before sliding the phone over to Emily to look at the dress. The swimmer looked down at the photo and hummed in contemplation. It was a nice dress, but it didn't seem right for Hanna. But Aria did have a point. She'd definitely seen that dress at one of the stores above them.

"Yeah, I think I saw it too." Emily agreed, sliding the phone back over to her friend. "You wanna meet up with her?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Looks like she needs help anyways, because that dress is not for her." Emily rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling as she watched her friend send a text to Hanna. A reply came almost instantaneously – she was still shocked at how fast Hanna could type – and Aria relayed the message to her. "Yeah, she's here with Spencer on the third floor." Emily's heart skipped a beat at the words. She tried to hide her sudden rush of excitement with surprise.

"Spencer's here?" She asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. Aria didn't seem to notice, fortunately for her.

"Mhm, wanna go see them now?"

"Yes," Emily said rapidly, realizing her mistake. She covered her eagerness up by shrugging nonchalantly. "I mean, yeah, let's go." Aria raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Okay." She answered with a confused smile before shooting a text to Hanna. "Let's go," Both girls stood from their seats and tossed whatever was left of their food, despite the fact that Emily had barely sipped anything. She couldn't imagine eating any of it anyways, considering that in just a few minutes, she'd be face to face with the girl who was making all her dreams come true.

* * *

_"I told you I'd be back," Emily said with a smile as she crawled back into bed with Spencer. Spencer's heart thudded in excitement as she smiled at the girl in front of her, now with minty fresh breath._

_"I never doubted you for a second," Spencer murmured, scooting closer so that her legs were against Emily's. She heard a gasp come from the girl in front of her and smirked a little. The swimmer's legs were a little cold from being exposed, but the brunette didn't mind the slightest bit. The cold was a comfort, actually, since Spencer felt like she was going to burn up from how Emily made her feel. _

_"What time is it?" Emily asked, licking her lips nervously, and Spencer could see that she was trying to put off the inevitable. She wondered if the girl had the same fears as herself - the fear of rushing head first into whatever they were doing. Not that Spencer was overflowing with experience, but she knew that relationships that flared up fast also burned out fast. _

_She didn't want her relationship with Emily to end in flames. She wouldn't allow it._

_"It's early enough," The brunette answered in a sigh, staring at Emily's lips longingly as her heart thundered in her ears. She felt like an electron, helplessly attracted to a proton and dying to meet it, even if the proton would end up swallowing her whole. She would gladly take that chance a million times and more._

_"Early enough?" Emily's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and Spencer could hardly keep down the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach at the sight. "Early enough for what?" Spencer wondered briefly if the swimmer could hear her heart pounding against her chest. She hoped that she did. She wanted Emily to know how crazy she drove her._

_Spencer cupped the girl's face with her hand, and watched as the girl stared back at her in what she hoped was anticipation. She let her hand fall to the girl's neck and felt the pulse point there beating wildly against her fingertips. She almost grinned._

_"Early enough not to be interrupted," She whispered, leaning closer to Emily's face. The swimmer's lips fell open in alacrity, almost inviting Spencer to move further._

_"Interrupted?" Emily let out weakly, the faint confusion on her face clouded by lust. Spencer hummed in response, her hand going back to cup the girl's face as she leaned in, nodding lightly._

_"Interrupted," She murmured before closing the distance between them and meeting Emily's lips in a breathtaking kiss. Spencer felt the girl kiss her back eagerly, her hand coming to rest against the brunette's cheek, and smiled into the kiss. She let her hand roam back down to the girl's waist and pulled her closer, feeling Emily take in a sharp breath as her lips fell open. _

_Just as she was about to deepen their somewhat innocent kiss, loud vibrations began to sound throughout the room. Spencer pulled away only slightly, her lips barely a centimeter from Emily's as they listened to the sound. She opened her eyes a little and stared at the swimmer, whose eyes were still closed._

_"I think that's my phone," Emily whispered, opening her eyes to look at the brunette. Spencer's heart sped up at the sight, eager to continue their actions, but choosing to subdue herself for the moment._

_"Do you want to check who it is? It could be your mom." Spencer said, and Emily nodded, slowly removing her hand from her face and turning over to grab her phone off the night stand. Spencer watched as the girl observed her phone and took in her sudden change in demeanor. She looked nervous. "What's wrong?" The brunette asked, a worried feeling pooling uncomfortably in her stomach. She watched as Emily bit her lip and looked over to her._

_"It's Alison," Emily answered with a sigh, looking almost as uncomfortable as Spencer felt. The brunette's heart tightened at the information, and she swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. She'd almost forgotten – tried to, at least _–_ Emily's feelings for the blonde. In reality, she'd been silently hoping that the girl's feelings had changed after their moment last week. But Spencer wasn't an idiot - far from it - and she knew feelings didn't change overnight. She'd been hoping, however, that a week would have done the trick._

_"Are you going to answer?" Spencer asked, sounding a lot smaller than usual. She couldn't help it, however. She was used to Emily choosing Alison over everyone else _–_ including her _–_ and she wouldn't have been surprised if the swimmer did it again at this moment. But surprise was one thing, and heartbreak was another, and she was sure that the latter would be unavoidable if Emily got up from her bed to take Alison's phone call._

_Emily seemed to sense Spencer's distress and looked over to the brunette once more before looking back to her phone screen. Spencer closed her eyes and let out what was supposed to be a calming breath, but ended up shaky. She couldn't watch Emily take that call. _

_And, as it turned out, she didn't have to, because before she had the chance to open her eyes, she felt a pair of soft lips caress her own in a warm kiss that stole her breath for a second time._

_"She can leave a message." Emily murmured against her lips, and Spencer's grin nearly split her face. She chose her over Alison. She chose __**her**__ over __**Alison**__. She felt like one of those cartoons where the character morphs into a rocket ship after being kissed by a girl. She swore if she could, Spencer would have been soaring with the stars right now._

_Just as Emily leaned in to kiss her again, vibrations sounded once more; this time, from Spencer's side of the room. Spencer groaned in irritation and parted reluctantly from Emily's lips._

_"You have got to be kidding me." She muttered in annoyance, leaning her forehead on to Emily's, eyes closed in frustration. Emily giggled and placed a hand on the small of Spencer's back, rubbing soothingly._

_"Do you want to pick it up?" Emily asked, and Spencer smiled at the question. She almost couldn't believe the girl was actually asking that question._

_"No," Spencer answered, opening her eyes and staring into Emily's before frowning. "I just want to kiss you." The brunette almost sighed in relief as the vibrations finally ceased. She watched the swimmer curiously as she observed the mischievous glint in her eyes._

_"Then kiss me," Emily answered in amusement, her eyes sparkling with playfulness. Spencer was slightly shocked, never knowing Emily to be so bold, but she decided, as she leaned in to meet the girl in another kiss, that she liked it very much._

_Before they could kiss once more, however, two vibrations sounded from both sides of the room. Spencer clenched her jaw and breathed in before scooting a little backwards and looking at Emily, who seemed just as frustrated as she was._

_"I'll look if you do," Spencer said, raising an eyebrow at Emily, who agreed with a sigh and a nod. Both girls reached for their phones and opened up the text they'd both received._

_**Party tonight girls! Scored some invites to a frat party last night. Dress to impress bitches ;***_

_Spencer sighed loudly and put her phone down before looking over at Emily, who was staring back at her. The brunette smiled in defeat and shrugged._

_"I guess we're going to a party tonight."_

"Sean Ackard totally looked at me,"

"Well, yeah, Hanna. People usually do that when you say hi to them very loudly in the middle of a mall." Spencer muttered in a distracted, distant voice.

"Yeah but he was looking at me way before that!"

"Okay, I'm sure he was," Spencer and Hanna had been in the same store for the better part of an hour now, and the brunette was starting to wonder why she had ever agreed to accompanying the blonde in the first place.

Hanna was an intense shopper with really picky taste – despite it being good – so of course, Spencer knew that she probably wouldn't be home for at least two more hours. Usually, she could handle these insane shopping trips with Hanna, since most of the girls – namely Emily – came along, but her feet were aching from her less than satisfactory practice and she was still irritated from her encounter with Alison in the locker room. So, yes, perhaps she was a little on edge, but could anyone really blame her? It had been a rough day, and it would probably be an even rougher night.

"Stop looking at me like that, Spencer," Hanna protested with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest. Spencer looked at her incredulously, with eyebrows scrunched together.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm illusional,"

"_Delusional_," Spencer muttered.

"Whatever, same thing," Hanna said with an eye roll while Spencer's eyebrows still remained scrunched up as she contemplated the girl's words.

"It really isn't."

"Oh, shut up," Spencer smiled at Hanna and sighed. At least she was able to distract herself from the nervous pit that was taking over her stomach.

"So, what did Aria say about the dress?" The brunette asked in an attempt to get her friend's mind off of Sean. Honestly, Hanna's crush was almost as bad as . . . Well, she'd rather not say, for her own sake at least. Hanna sighed and dropped her hands back to her sides.

"She said that it didn't look right for me and that she was coming up to help." Hanna answered, searching through the clothes rack in front of her for something that looked nice.

"She's here?" Spencer asked in surprise, looking at Hanna over the clothes. Hanna nodded as she moved various shirts aside.

"Yup, she was on the first floor with Emily getting a smoothie. She said they were coming right up." Spencer's heart nearly stopped in her chest as her jaw dropped. Had she heard that right?

"E-Emily's here?" Spencer asked, her heart racing in sudden excitement to hear that the girl was even in the same building as she. Hanna looked up and smiled.

"Well, she is now," She responded, looking behind Spencer and waving. Spencer turned and her breath caught in her throat.

Aria and Emily stood at the entrance of the store, presumably searching for them. Emily's hair was up in a ponytail, Spencer noted with a racing heart, and she was wearing her Rosewood Sharks t-shirt with a pair of sweatpants. Anyone else would have thought she looked normal enough, but Spencer's heart was practically thumping out of her chest and her stomach might as well have grown wings from how light it felt because Emily Fields was absolutely the prettiest girl she'd ever seen.

She wiped her hands on her own sweatpants and gulped. God, she felt like a twelve year old boy.

"Over here, guys!" Hanna called out to them, still waving like a maniac to get their attention. Aria finally heard the blonde and smiled, before tapping Emily and pointing in Hanna's direction. But Emily didn't look to Hanna. Instead, her eyes immediately found Spencer's and a warm smile spread across her face. If Spencer wasn't a million percent sure that it was absolutely, physically impossible, she would have melted to the ground at that very moment.

Unfortunately for Spencer, she wasn't as elegant as she usually came off as when she was flustered, which probably explained how she magically managed to bump into a clothing rack and send four tops on to the floor. Out of shock and embarrassment, Spencer blushed furiously and dove down to pick up the fallen clothing, not without noticing Hanna's obvious giggling.

"Geez, Spence, you're worse than me around Sean," At the words, the brunette's heart stopped in her chest at the possible assumption. There was no possible way that Hanna could know about her crush . . . right? Her throat tightened as she tried to swallow. Had Alison already spilled her secret to her friends?

Before she could work herself into a worried frenzy, a soft hand came to rest upon hers and her thoughts faded into nothing. She looked up and her heart melted at the sight of her favorite dimpled grin.

"Hey," Emily said warmly, and Spencer felt her body slowly relaxing, even though her stomach felt like it was practicing for the Olympics.

"Hi," She murmured back, returning the smile. Emily's grin diminished into a shy smile before she ducked her head and reached for a fallen shirt, and Spencer was once again overcome with that crazy desire to just kiss her - until she heard Aria's voice.

"Hey, Spence," The shorter girl greeted her from above. Spencer inhaled and looked up at the girl with a smile.

"Hi, Aria. Come to help out?"

"Well, that's the plan," Aria answered with a smile, looking to the dress Hanna had picked out with a sudden grimace. "And it seems like you need it."

"It's nice," Hanna muttered, hanging the dress reluctantly back on the rack.

"Not for this kind of party. Let's look over here," The raven haired girl pointed further into the shop. Spencer looked over to Emily, who surprisingly cleared her throat before speaking.

"I'm gonna stay up here and see if I can find something," The swimmer said, standing up with some of the clothes that fell to the floor. Spencer bit her lip to keep from smiling and stood up as well with some clothing. Emily looked over to the brunette with a look in her eyes that made Spencer's stomach do summersaults. "Can you help me out, Spence?" Spencer had to mash her lips together to keep from grinning while she nodded.

"Sure," She answered with a nod, trying to come off as normal but failing miserably. Happy Spencer was a horrible actress. Aria raised an eyebrow at the two of them but didn't ask any further questions.

"Okay," The shorter girl said slowly. "We'll be over here if you need us. Come on, Han." Aria turned and began walking towards the back while Hanna looked longingly at the dress she'd picked out before sighing and following her friend. Once they were out of earshot, Spencer turned to Emily and raised both of her eyebrows towards the girl, slightly surprised but mostly impressed. It took all of two second for Emily to burst out laughing and for Spencer to fall in love with the sound all over again.

"Would it be weird to say that I'm proud?" Spencer laughed more than asked, to which Emily responded with a playful eye roll.

"Maybe I really did want to look for something," Emily insisted matter-of-factly, and Spencer's heart fluttered at their silly banter.

"Hmm, like what?" Spencer challenged, smirking and raising an eyebrow once more. The swimmer accepted the challenge happily, walking passed Spencer and making sure their arms touched, relishing in the electricity that shot through her. She wasn't quite sure exactly what had gotten into Emily, but as she turned to stare at the girl search through some clothes, she decided that she liked it.

The brunette watched with amusement as the swimmer rifled through some clothing, until the girl stopped altogether. The devious look that crossed Emily's features sent chills throughout Spencer's body.

"How about these?" Emily asked, pulling out a _very _short jean skirt. Spencer's jaw was nearly scraping the floor.

"I-I don't think that's for you, Em," The brunette answered a little breathlessly, trying to erase the sudden image that her mind had conjured of Emily in that very _very _short skirt.

"Are my legs not pretty enough?" Emily asked with a frown, and it suddenly hit Spencer that this was payback for their little flirtation that morning. The brunette shook her head and smiled. She stepped forward and took the skirt out of the swimmer's hands, making sure their hands brushed.

"Your legs are beautiful, Emily," Spencer answered sincerely, wondering briefly if Emily's heart was beating as fast as hers at their proximity. "But there are better ways to show them off." The swimmer hummed in false contemplation, her smile threatening to break out into a grin.

"And what ways are those?" Emily asked, her voice dripping with flirtatious undertones, to which Spencer couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you flirting with me, Emily Fields?" The brunette asked, biting her lip to keep the grin off her face. Emily looked appalled in every sense of the word, but the playfulness in her eyes gave her away.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Spencer. We're just two friends who are trying to find some clothes to wear to a party, as far as I'm concerned." The swimmer answered, turning away and back towards the clothing in front of them, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. And just when Spencer thought she couldn't fall any harder for Emily Fields.

"Yeah, well, I don't think you need any help there," The brunette stated, turning towards the clothes as well and sifting through them. "After all, I'm the one who dresses like a Republican," She murmured, bitterly remembering Alison's words from before.

"Spencer," Emily said warmly, and the brunette could hear the smile in her voice without even looking over. Her heart was fluttering from the girl just saying her name. God, she was so doomed. "You do not dress like a Republican." A pause passed between them before the swimmer added, in a murmur, "I like the way you dress." Spencer thought she was going to explode from how giddy she felt on the inside.

"Thank you," Spencer whispered, a small smile on her face. Her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much. "But I do need to dress differently tonight. It's a party, after all."

"It sure is," Emily muttered, letting out a small sigh. Spencer watched as the girl turned over a shirt without much interest while she bit her lip. "I kind of wish we could stay here. Going to those frat parties sets me on edge."

"You and me both." Spencer hummed in agreement with a smile. "You know, we could stick together for the rest of the night, if you want." Emily laughed a little, causing Spencer to furrow her eyebrows. "What?"

"Spencer, we always stick together at those parties." Emily answered with a smile before a small look of realization came on to her face, something Spencer couldn't explain, and she looked down to the clothes with a blush on her face.

"Well, yeah, I know. What I mean is we could go somewhere away from the party, so we don't get dragged into the drama." The brunette had failed to realize how suggestive her sentence sounded and her eyes widened. Just as she was about to correct herself, however, Emily beat her to it with her own laughter, causing Spencer's insides to go soft.

"Spencer Hastings, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" The swimmer asked in playful surprise, her eyes bright and lips formed into a smile.

"N-No! I didn't mean it like that!" Spencer stressed, trying to keep her voice from attracting too much attention. Emily giggled at her flustered crush and shook her head.

"Well, good, because I am not that type of girl," The swimmer stated playfully with a curt nod, and Spencer felt her heart flutter.

"I know," The brunette admitted with a smile, looking down at the pile of clothing in front of her. "That's what I like about you." She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Emily, who was blushing timidly and hiding her smile. Spencer was sure if she could swoon any harder, she'd be on the floor.

Spencer suddenly caught sight of how close their hands were, only inches apart. Her throat tightened as her heart thundered against her chest at the desire to close the distance. She looked up, without moving her head, and looked around briefly, making sure no one was near them. In a bold move, even though she was feeling less than brave and more than nervous, she slipped her hand closer to Emily's until her fingertips touched the other girl's hand.

Surprisingly enough, Spencer wasn't the one to hold her hand – it was Emily. The swimmer had turned her hand over and enveloped the brunette's hand, and Spencer momentarily went weak in the knees. She really hoped her palm wasn't sweaty.

She looked up at Emily, who was watching their hands with a small smile on her face, the same way she had done many times before. Spencer looked back down at their hands and said the first thing that came to her mind – although it wasn't the first time she'd thought of it.

"Do you ever wonder why our hands look so good together?" Spencer murmured, beginning to rub circles on the back of Emily's hand with her thumb, a gesture she had gotten far too used to. Emily's smiled widened, her eyes warm and bright.

"I think I finally figured that out," Emily whispered, taking in a breath just like Spencer had done the night before when she asked to kiss her. She could feel Emily's nerves working against her, so she gave the girl's hand a soft squeeze, causing the swimmer to look up at her. Spencer smiled, encouraging the girl to say what she wanted to. That, and the suspense was killing the brunette. "It's because we're good together. We always have been." Emily answered with a shrug and a smile. Two simple, harmless actions, and yet, at that very moment, Spencer finally knew the answer to the question that haunted her nights and her days for months now, something that terrified and excited her all at the same time. But she wasn't scared anymore, because the answer was yes –

She was definitely falling in love with Emily Fields.

The smile that had worked itself effortlessly on to her face at her more than happy realization had faded slightly when she heard footsteps in the distance. Spencer gave Emily a sheepish smile before reluctantly pulling her hand away. Emily understood immediately, but that didn't stop the small frown from forming on her face at the action.

They really needed to find the time to talk. Being in public was too dangerous for them, and they weren't doing much to lessen the risk – not that Spencer was complaining. Even if they didn't talk, Spencer preferred to be alone with Emily than out and about. At least in private, she wouldn't have to be worried about the possibility of exposing . . . Whatever was happening between them. The last thing she wanted was for Emily to be in the garish spotlight and to be asked questions that neither of them knew the answer to yet. At least if they talked, they'd be able to answer some of their own questions and decide whether or not this was something worth trying for.

Spencer already knew the answer to that one – she just hoped Emily felt the same.

"Did you find anything?" Emily's voice broke Spencer out of her thoughts. She turned and watched Hanna and Aria coming back towards them, Hanna frowning profusely and Aria looking only slightly less disappointed.

"Nothing. We could check another store, though. We still have at least three hours before we have to get ready for the party." Aria suggested optimistically, but all Spencer could do was groan. Her feet ached even more at the thought of walking around another store.

"Do we have to?" Spencer complained, crossing her arms over her chest with a small pout. Hanna matched her pout perfectly.

"Come on, Spence! I really need to find something, and the more help the better. Pleeease?" Hanna pleaded, drawing out the last word dramatically. Spencer felt the guilt creeping to her stomach but the ache in her feet seemed to overcome it at the moment. Until Emily turned to her and pouted too, silently begging her to stay. Could she really say no after that?

"Fine," Spencer agreed reluctantly, letting her arms fall to her sides in defeat. She was so whipped; it almost physically hurt her pride. The pain in her pride faded rather quickly, however, when Hanna and Aria grinned and began walking out of the store, while Emily stood beside her and wrapped her arms around her left arm.

"Come on, Spencer, we have a lot of work to do." Emily said in a somewhat tired voice, before smiling and looked at the brunette. Spencer smiled back against her own will and sighed loudly before shaking her head, causing Emily to look at her in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing really," Spencer said with a smirk, beginning to lead Emily out of the store. Hanna and Aria were farther ahead, and definitely wouldn't be able hear them with the excited buzzing of the mall all around them. "Just wondering why I didn't kiss you sooner." The brunette laughed at Emily's surprised expression and slight blush, but the swimmer quickly recovered and nodded in understanding.

"I've been wondering the same thing myself." Emily answered, matching Spencer's smirk to a tee.

Oh yes, she was definitely falling in love with Emily Fields.

* * *

_"So you'll text me when you get home?" Spencer asked as she watched Emily shoulder her bag and unlock her front door. The swimmer turned to Spencer with a smile and rolled her eyes._

_"Spencer, I practically live down the street." Emily answered with a playful tilt of her head. Spencer pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. _

_"I can still worry," The brunette muttered, her pout growing. Emily suppressed a laugh and touched Spencer's arm gently._

_"I'll text you as soon as I walk through the door." Emily promised, relishing in the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach when Spencer smiled at her. She had the sudden urge to kiss the girl right then and there, but it seemed that all her nerve ran out as soon as she got out of that bed. Being in Spencer's room felt like an escape from reality, a place where things she'd only ever daydreamed about happened. Leaving that comfort zone brought them right back into the real world, where they definitely couldn't do anything they'd done last night._

_Emily had the distinct, distressed feeling that a talk between them was going to be due soon, and although she knew they both really needed to sort this all out, she didn't want to extinguish the fantasy world she was just getting accustomed too. She hoped that Spencer wasn't ready to give it up, either._

_Reluctantly, Emily turned and opened the front door and stepped outside. She turned around to say goodbye to Spencer one last time, until the girl stepped out as well. She was a little shocked, to say the least, since the girl was in nothing but sleeping shorts and a t-shirt, and she showed just how shocked she was through her facial expressions._

_"What are you doing?" Emily whispered loud enough for Spencer to hear, her eyes darting around to see if anyone was outside. To her great fortune, not a soul was in sight. When she looked back at the brunette in front of her, she barely had time to blink before two hands cupped her face and kissed her softly. Despite the rush that went through her system at their contact, Emily made a noise against Spencer's mouth to make her pull away, which the brunette did, with furrowed eyebrows. She only wished she could swoon less at the sight of that dumb, adorable expression._

_"What?" Spencer asked, still holding her face in her hands. Emily's mouth almost fell open._

_"Spencer! We're out in the open! What do you mean what?" The swimmer protested, her eyes darting anxiously from the houses she could see in her peripheral vision. Spencer smiled and began to laugh, which only confused and upset Emily._

_"Em, I've been out on runs later than this and not one person even bothers to peek through a blind. Trust me when I say that no one is watching us," Spencer soothed with a smile, rubbing a thumb across Emily's cheek. Emily almost hated the fact that she was already calming down. "Besides that, you know I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize what we have." Emily raised an eyebrow, smiling against her own will._

_"What we have?" Spencer's own smiled widened as she nodded._

_"Yes, what we have, which we can discuss later. Right now, you need to get home." Spencer stated, letting go of Emily's face. The swimmer sighed and nodded, even more reluctant than before to leave._

_"I'll see you tonight." Emily said and Spencer simply nodded with a smile as she crossed her arms over her chest._

_"See you tonight." Just as she was about to turn to leave, Emily leaned in for one more quick peck, which Spencer returned with a smile, before heading down the street and towards her own house. She glanced back a couple of times, not being able to help herself, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Spencer was still watching her every time she looked back, even waving sometimes. _

_Emily smiled to herself, her insides feeling warm, as if her blood had been replaced with honey. She never imagined that anything _–_ anyone _–_ could make her feel this happy. It was dangerous, she knew, being this happy, but she couldn't help it. Spencer made her feel safe, and happy, and above all, loved. She had absolutely no idea what was in store for them, nor did she even know what her sexuality was anymore, but she couldn't find much of a reason to care about that at the moment._

_What she did know was that being with Spencer felt more right and real than anything had in her whole life. And it was at that moment that she, Emily Fields, had finally figured out that she was absolutely, undeniably, falling hard for Spencer Hastings._

* * *

_A/N: :) _


	4. If It Feels Right, It Probably Is

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and all characters belong to their respectful owners.**

Summary: After giving up her first kiss to Alison and being horribly rejected, Emily is heartbroken and unsure if she ever wants to kiss anyone ever again . . . until someone changes her mind.

Rating: T

_A/N: Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! And I hope everyone took advantage of the discounts on chocolate after Valentine's Day because it would be a true shame to waste all that chocolate._

_Okay, before we get to the good stuff, here are some notes that you guys should look at before scrolling below:_

_1) I do mention rape below but I did not describe graphic images or anything of the sort. If that is a trigger for anyone reading, I just you to know that the word it is mentioned, not described or depicted.  
2) There is an OC I threw in here who I probably won't use ever again, but you know, I needed them for this chapter. You'll see why :)  
3) THERE ARE A LOT OF WORDS BELOW. A LOT. LIKE **A LOT**. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  
4) You can blame some of this chapter on the song Jealous by Nick Jonas because I couldn't get it out of my head the entire time. I think you'll know exactly which parts.  
_

_Aaaaand I think that's it :) It's been a tough month for Spemily, since both of them have suddenly been targeted for new romances that weren't AT ALL asked for. And the sad part is that Johnny and Talia are actually not that bad character-wise, but of course, they would just be romantic plot devices. God forbid anyone new on that show isn't used to give the shippers heart attacks. It would just be too horrible to have an interesting character who isn't put together with one of the girls._

_Sorry, rant over. Anyways, enjoy this chapter :) I actually had to stop writing because it was SO DAMN LONG and I didn't want to bore anyone by putting too much in one chapter. SO next chapter will be the aftermath or this chapter and then,*cue spooky, suspenseful music* the inevitable night that started it alllllll. Okay, enough, I'm done, ENJOY! :)_

* * *

"Of course you wouldn't know where this dumb frat party is, you never know where anything is! Your head is always too far up your ass to even pay attention to addresses."

"Oh my God, shut the hell up before I shove your head up your ass."

"I'm sure it's around here somewhere. You said Broad Street, right?"

"Broad Street's up ahead on the right."

"Oh thank God, my feet are starting to hurt."

The five girls hurried up the street and finally heard a loud bass that practically made the street tremble as they approached the corner. When they did turn, they found a very lit up house with at least a few hundred people littered around and inside of it. Alison smiled brightly and turned to her friends.

"Ready for a party, girls?" She asked, not waiting for an answer before she wrapped her arm around Aria's and began walking once more, Hanna following right after. Spencer rolled her eyes and sighed, a pout forming rapidly on her face. She could think of so many places she'd rather be instead of the party, so many things she'd rather be doing, too. An arm enveloped her right arm and she let herself relax a little before looking over to Emily, her pout still very evident.

"You know, if you keep making that face, it's going to freeze like that," Emily said matter-of-factly, smiling at how adorable Spencer looked.

"Good," Spencer insisted, looking in front of her as she watched her friends' drift closer to the party.

"Not good. You're too pretty to have a frozen frown on your face forever." Emily's smile grew as she watched Spencer begin to smile, but the brunette turned her head away to hide her defeat.

"Ugh," Spencer muttered, shaking her head. "I hate when you do that."

"Do what?"

"Make me smile." The brunette answered, unable to contain her smile as she turned her head back to the girl beside her.

"Well, I like it." Emily countered, smiling back just as brightly, causing Spencer's stomach to flutter. She took in a deep breath to calm and remind herself that she was in a very public area.

"Hey lovebirds, care to join the party?" Both girl's turned at the sound of Alison's voice ahead of them. The girl had her hands on her hips and was waiting for them in the middle of the street with Aria and Hanna on either side of her, except Aria's attention was on the party and Hanna was inspecting her shoes.

"Bitch," Spencer muttered under her breath, staring ahead at Alison with annoyance. In the past, something like that would have probably made Emily snap at Spencer, or she would have at least told Spencer that Alison wasn't that bad. Now, however, she smiled, even giggled a little. Not so much because it was true - though it might have been - but because she found that an annoyed Spencer Hastings was the best entertainment you could find on the planet.

"Come on, Spence. Time to party." Emily said with a smile before dragging the girl along with her towards the deafening music. Once they were close enough, Alison turned around with a roll of her eyes - Spencer was sure she was going to kill her some time tonight - and continued walking, the other girls following close behind.

"You never told us how you found out about this party, Ali," Aria spoke up suddenly, observing the scattered co-eds on the lawn of the house. Alison shrugged and smirked.

"A friend invited me." Spencer scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Who did you have to make out with to get invited to this place?" She asked sarcastically, glancing at Emily out of the corner of her eye. Despite the fact that she was almost sure that Emily had no romantic feelings for the blonde anymore, she was still worried. But the girl's small smile eased those worries for the moment and she allowed herself to breathe. Until Alison turned around and fixed her with a cold glare.

"For your information, I don't need to make out with people to get what I want." The words sounded like they had a double meaning, and Spencer was both angry and slightly intimidated by Alison's words. The blonde turned back around and ignored the brunette, and Spencer was very close to just yanking the girl's hair and throwing her to the ground. "Besides," The blonde continued. "I was invited by someone we both know, Spence." Spencer raised an eyebrow in curiosity and disbelief.

"Really? Who?" Spencer could practically see the smirk Alison probably had on her face as she asked the question.

"You'll see." She should have known she wasn't going to get a straight answer. The brunette rolled her eyes before feeling a small nudge to her side. She looked over at Emily, who was adorning a confused and questioning look. She wondered briefly if she would ever be able to control the butterflies in her stomach when she looked at her crush. However, to answer Emily's silent question, Spencer simply shrugged, truly not knowing who Alison was talking about.

The girls walked up the the walkway of the fraternity, dodging the people the came bustling out of the house and making sure not to step on any empty beer bottles or plastic cups. Alison opened the already partially ajar door and led the girls inside, where the music literally bounced off the walls and made your ears pulse. Spencer winced slightly at the sudden change, but ignored it as best as she could. She watched as Alison grabbed some random guy and whispered something into his ear, before he pointed into another room that looked like the kitchen. Alison turned to her friends with a smile and beckoned them to follow her with a finger. Spencer's stomach turned uncomfortably as she wondered with uncertainty where Alison was leading them.

She glanced over at Emily, just to see how she felt. Emily, in turn, looked back at Spencer and smiled, and although it was just a simple smile, the brunette already felt a lot calmer. She took in a breath and walked forward with Emily, their arms still intertwined.

When they all walked into the kitchen, all the air rushed out of Spencer's lungs as a familiar face came into view. Her mouth fell open as she watched Alison approach a boy with jet black hair, smoothed back, and a gray t-shirt and jeans, who was talking to two other guys near the island in the kitchen. The blonde tapped his shoulder and when he turned, he greeted Alison with a wide smile.

"Hey, you made it!" Spencer heard him exclaim, but she was still in too much shock to even register anything. She also didn't notice Emily looking over at her with a confused expression.

"I told you I would," Alison answered with a smile that almost made her look innocent and friendly. "I hope you don't mind, I brought some friends."

"Are you kidding? At these kind of parties, the more the merrier! Where are they?" Alison pointed over to where the other girls were standing, and the boy immediately caught sight of Spencer. His face broke into an even larger grin as he approached the girls and he started laughing as soon as he was close enough. His glee seemed to be contagious, because now Spencer was smiling as the boy drew closer.

"Spencer Hastings, as I live and breathe," Spencer rolled her eyes at the dramatic greeting, but her smile only seemed to widen. "Last time I saw you, you were still wearing those gigantic glasses that made your eyes bigger than your head." The brunette's smile quickly faded into an embarrassed frown. She didn't quite catch the way the boy looked over at Emily, who was laughing as she watched Spencer.

"Very funny, Josh," Spencer retorted with a smile. "You'd better be careful or I'll tell everyone how much of a dork you used to be," She paused for a beat before smirking. "And probably still are." The boy, Josh, laughed heartily and crossed his arms.

"I missed that Hastings charm." He said with a genuine smile, which Spencer returned. Throughout the exchange, Hanna and Aria had exchanged looks of confusion while Emily had watched with interest, and, thankfully, not jealousy.

She didn't get jealous often - nor did she outwardly show it - but she knew exactly how horrible that burning sensation of helplessness felt. On more than one occasion, Alison had brought out that feeling while she had practically been forced to watch the blonde flirt with some random boy at some random party. However, right now, she wasn't jealous or angry or even annoyed. She was content, because she was still wrapped around Spencer's arm and it didn't feel like the brunette planned on leaving any time soon.

But this Josh guy was looking at the two of them with a weird look, and she wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Uh, hi," Hanna said awkwardly, causing everyone to look at her. She smiled and laughed in embarrassment but continued. "Not to be mean or anything, but who are you?" Josh laughed in response and smiled, putting his hands into his pockets.

"I'm an old friend of Spencer's." He answered with a grin, looking back over to Spencer. The brunette shook her head is disagreement.

"Correction: a friend of Melissa's." Emily laughed lightly at Spencer's response, and watched once more as Josh eyed them with what she could only describe as curiosity. Weird.

She looked passed the boy and watched Alison - she couldn't help it, old habits died hard - as she talked to the boys that Josh left behind. The blonde was laughing and giggling innocently at something one of them had said while she held a red cup of God only knows what against her lips. Emily was pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn't jealous about that either.

Just as she was about to turn back, Alison turned and looked over at them. She wasn't exactly smiling, but she had a strange look in her eye as well. Not like Josh's, but definitely worse. Emily's stomach turned at the sight. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned her attention back to the conversation.

Had she looked a little longer, she would have seen the smirk that graced Alison's lips as she observed the scene.

"Yeah, well, Melissa and I stopped being friends a while ago," Josh answered with a smile, but Spencer could see a the bit of sadness behind it. She smiled back and shrugged.

"Well, you didn't miss much. She's still a bitch." Everyone laughed at that, but the laughter quickly died once Alison put her arms around Josh's arm.

"Having fun without me?" She asked playfully, looking up at Josh with a bright smile. Spencer's smile fell instantly, something Emily noted immediately.

"Just catching up," The boy answered with a smile. "You know, while you were flirting with my friends." Spencer smirked at that.

"I wasn't flirting, we were just talking," Alison insisted, looking back at the two boys that were still looking at her. "They're very good talkers."

"Uh huh." Josh responded, looking over at Spencer and shaking his head. Spencer smiled back at him and shrugged, not realizing how closely Emily was watching their interaction. The swimmer swallowed the lump in her throat and willed the burning in her stomach to go away. _It's nothing, Emily. Don't get worked up over nothing._

Alison turned back around and smiled sweetly at Spencer, who didn't return the gesture.

In fact, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. She watched as the blonde's eyes dipped to her and Emily's entwined arms and her smile seemed to only grow. Spencer felt a nervous chill run up her spine, but she suppressed the need to shiver.

"Hey Josh, why don't you get us some drinks?" Alison asked sweetly, running her hand up Josh's arm. All the girls zeroed in on the action with wide eyes. Spencer ended up rolling hers. Typical Alison. "And nothing too strong, Hanna goes crazy with vodka."

"That was one time." Hanna muttered ruefully while Aria patted her on the back.

"Um, okay, coming right up." Josh answered and disentangled himself from Alison's grip. The blonde looked back over at Spencer and smiled again.

"You should go with him Spencer. I'm sure he'll need help carrying those cups."

"Oh, uh . . ." Spencer trailed off awkwardly, looking over to Emily. Emily shrugged but smiled nevertheless, causing butterflies to erupt in Spencer's stomach.

"Yeah, come on," Josh urged with a smile, beckoning her to follow him. "We can keep catching up."

"Okay," Spencer answered slowly and a bit reluctantly, but Emily gave her arm a reassuring squeeze that allowed her to relax. The swimmer let go of the brunette's arm and watched as Spencer followed after the boy, but not without glancing back at the Emily with a smile. Her heart swelled as she smiled to herself and watched them disappear into a different room. _See, Em? Nothing to worry about._

"He's cute." Aria commented with a smile, watching as the two disappeared.

"Very." Alison agreed with a smirk, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You think he'll try something with Spencer?" Hanna asked, tilting her head at the spot where the two had been standing.

"Nah," Alison answered, shaking her head. Emily felt a tinge of relief, but then Alison's smirk widened and she knew whatever was coming wasn't going to be pleasant. "But Spencer might try something."

"No, she won't." Emily answered quickly, giving Alison a look. The blonde raised an eyebrow at her and the swimmer recoiled, but only slightly.

"Yeah, I'm with Em on that one, Ali," Aria chirped up, luckily for Emily. "Spencer's not the type."

"We all know Spencer goes after what she wants," Alison stated with a knowing smile as she stared Emily down. Emily's blood ran cold and she swallowed in fear. Did Alison know about her and Spencer?

Alison's smirk widened when the clear look of fear came on to Emily's face before she turned away with a triumphant smile. "And Spencer's had a crush on Josh since the sixth grade. Why shouldn't she try something?" The swimmer could hear her heart pounding as her ears and face burned with the familiar feeling she knew as jealousy.

_She's lying. Don't listen to her._ Emily's thoughts screamed at her, but they didn't stop her body from feeling like it was on fire.

"No way," Hanna added in disbelief, grinning from ear to ear. Emily could barely hear the conversation from how sick she suddenly felt.

"Wow, go Spence!" Aria said with a smile and an approving nod. The swimmer needed to get out of there. The room felt too hot and she felt like she was going to throw up at any minute.

"Hey Em, can I talk to you for a sec?" Alison stated more than asked, and didn't wait for an answer before walking away from Hanna and Aria. Emily took in a deep, calming breath, but it didn't help her in the slightest. She had no idea what else Alison could possibly say to her to hurt her more, but she knew that whatever it was, it wasn't going to ease her at all.

Emily followed Alison until she stopped near a not-so-crowded area and turned abruptly. Before Emily could even ask what was wrong, Alison began speaking.

"I wouldn't hold my heart out for Spencer if I were you, Em." Emily's breath caught in her throat and she felt her hands begin to sweat. _Shit._

"I-I don't - "

"Yeah, yeah, you have no idea what I'm talking about, just like I don't have blue eyes and Aria isn't in love with Noel Kahn." Emily's mouth closed as she faced defeat unwillingly, clenching her jaw as she looked away from the blonde. Her insides felt heavy and she knew she wasn't far from a breakdown, but balled her hands into fists and listened. She couldn't give Alison the pleasure of seeing her cry again. Not when it wasn't over her.

"Like I said," Alison continued, and the image of pouring salt on an open wound flashed in her mind. "Spencer goes after what she wants. And when she figures out what that is," The blonde stepped into Emily's personal space, her voice in a warning tone that wasn't at all sincere. "I wouldn't count on her sticking around with you." Alison didn't wait for a response from Emily before she began walking back towards Hanna and Aria.

Emily felt another lump rise in her throat while her eyes began to ache with what she knew would soon be tears. She took in a shaky breath and tried to calm herself as best as she could.

Part of her, deep, deep down inside, knew that Alison was just talking out of her ass, but Spencer wasn't here to reassure her that it was all a lie. Her whole body burned uncomfortably with jealousy the more and more she thought about Spencer going off with that guy. Her mind began to question Spencer's smiles towards him, her laughs. She looked so comfortable talking to him. She looked so comfortable leaving with him.

Had she already lost Spencer?

_I wouldn't count on her sticking around with you._

Alison was right. Spencer wasn't here. She was with _Josh_.

Emily wiped the stray tear that fell down her cheek quickly and took another deep breath. She needed an escape. Now.

Her eyes immediately caught sight of a table full of assorted alcoholic drinks and red plastic cups. She grabbed a bottle of vodka and poured some of it into a cup. She looked down at the contents of her cup, debating whether or not she could actually do it again, but her heart was in a lot more pain than her head, so without another thought, she downed most of the alcohol.

She coughed a few times, hoping against hope that it wouldn't come back up, but then she felt a warmth pooling in her stomach and she felt more relaxed already. But the pain was still pounding throughout her and she needed to forget. One cup of vodka clearly wasn't going to do it. Not caring very much if anyone saw her, Emily grabbed the bottle and her cup and headed outside. If she was going to drink herself into a stupor, she didn't want to do it in this dumb frat house.

She wanted to be alone.

* * *

"So, how's life kid? Still the best student in school, right?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Josh laughed at Spencer's response and shook his head.

"Good ol' Hastings flair." He answered jokingly, walking over to a cooler and digging around for some drinks. "So, I'm guessing Alison dragged you down here?"

"You've always been a good guesser." Spencer answered with a smile, leaning against a wall as she waited for the boy to pull out some drinks. She hoped it wasn't beer he was looking for. She hated beer.

"So I've been told," Josh stated as he stood up straight once more and pulled out some cans that Spencer' couldn't quite see the label of. They were gray. She grimaced in her head. There we so many gray cans for different drinks. It could literally be anything. "I honestly never thought I'd see you here of all places, but if Ali dragged you down here, I guess you guys must still be pretty close right?"

"Unfortunately," Spencer grumbled, eyeing the cans still in the boy's hands. "Hey, you're not gonna give us any beer right?" Josh's eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

"Spencer, come on." He turned the cans over to reveal the label _Diet Coke_ written across it. Spencer felt relief wash over her. "I'm not about to give a bunch of minors alcohol. You guys can go do that stuff somewhere else." Josh said with a smile before reaching for some plastic cups nearby.

"Trust me, I'm not a fan of 'that stuff'." Spencer defended, putting her hands up for emphasis. Josh nodded in approval as he emptied a can into one of the cups.

"Glad to hear it." He pushed a cup towards Spencer, who took the drink and sipped from it. This was the first time she was mostly enjoying herself at one of these parties. Usually, she'd just try to avoid people and stay close to her friends - to Emily - so they would all be together when the party would inevitably get broken up by the cops. But she felt comfortable enough with Josh to actually enjoy catching up with him. It was nice.

"How's your sister?" Spencer half groaned and half laughed at the question and Josh shook his head in embarrassment.

"Josh, seriously?"

"You knew it was coming, Spence. Just wanted to save you the trouble of being in suspense." Josh had once had a gigantic crush on Melissa when they had still been in high school and Spencer was still in elementary. He'd been a bit - well, more than a bit - of a nerd back then, and Melissa had Ian, so the poor boy never had a chance, until one night where she'd caught them together being a little more than friendly. It seemed that poor Josh had never truly gotten over her Ice Queen of a sister.

"Do you want the truth?" Spencer asked sincerely, swirling her drink in her hand.

"The whole truth, and nothing but it." Josh answered playfully, but Spencer could see that he was preparing himself for disappointment. She smiled sadly and sighed.

"She's still with Ian," She answered truthfully, just like Josh had wanted. "And she uses any opportunity she has to show him off around the house." Spencer watched the boy's face fall slightly before he nodded in acceptance and poured another drink into a cup. "I'm sorry, Josh."

"You've got nothing to be sorry about, Spence." The boy insisted with a smile and a shrug. "It's not your fault."

"Yeah, but I know it's not what you wanted to hear."

"We don't always hear the things we want to hear," Josh answered, still smiling despite the fact that Spencer knew he was more than a little disappointed. "But life goes on." The brunette hummed and nodded, smiling sympathetically before taking a sip of her drink. Josh inhaled before grabbing a cup and talking again. "Well, enough about that. What about you? You got someone special?" Spencer's mouth fell open, unsure of what to say. She laughed awkwardly and put her drink down. Josh didn't need to see anything else before he smirked and started to bother the brunette. "Spencer Hastings, you sly, little charmer, you."

"Stop." Spencer protested, but the blush was already working itself on to her face. Josh's eyebrows shot up and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"And she blushes too! Oh, there's definitely someone." Spencer bit her lip, debating on whether or not she should tell Josh about Emily. She hadn't talked to the boy in at least two years, and he definitely wasn't the same. In fact, he was about a thousand times more attractive than he had been in a few years ago. He'd definitely gained more muscle mass and started using contacts instead of glasses. It surprised her that he was still so hung up on Melissa. He honestly looked like he could have any girl he wanted. She was sure she'd be attracted to him if she weren't already head over heels over Emily.

Part of her wanted to talk to someone about how deep in it she was for the swimmer, though. She loved Aria and Hanna, but she didn't think that they would be able to keep a secret like that away from Alison. Alison already knew, but Spencer would be damned if she caved and actually started talking about it with the icy blonde.

She didn't actually have to tell Josh that it was Emily, anyways. She could just say it was someone. She didn't have to give any details if she didn't want to, it was her life. She wanted to keep the details to herself, anyways. Part of her still felt that if she said too much out loud, everything would just fade away, like most of her dreams.

"Okay," Spencer gave in, taking a deep breath. "There's someone."

"Well, that much I'd already figured out." Josh answered with a smirk, tossing an empty can aside. "So who's this lucky person?"

"That's classified information." Spencer stated, looking away as she tried to calm the blush on her face.

"Ooh, sneaky sneaky. Alright, I'll stop." Josh laughed, gathering all the cups together in preparation to carry them. "Do you like them a lot, at least?" Spencer's mouth opened to respond, but all that came out was a breathy laugh. _Well, if that wasn't the understatement of the century._

"I think I like them more than a lot." She murmured loud enough for the boy to hear. Josh smiled, and placed a hand on his chest.

"Baby Hastings is all grown up."

"Oh God, Josh!" The boy laughed loudly while Spencer shook her head in a grimace. "Don't be such a dork."

"Can't help it. Genetics, you know?" Spencer laughed and rolled her eyes. She took some of the cups that Josh had gathered, and the two began walking back towards her friends. A small silence had passed between them before Josh spoke up again. "Do any of your friends have boyfriends?" Spencer looked over to her friend with wide eyes.

"Josh, you know we're all like sixteen, right?" Josh scoffed and his mouth dropped open.

"I'm not asking because I want to date them! Geez, can't a guy ask a question anymore?"

"Yeah, well, you're maxing out on your question limit." Spencer said with a laugh. "But to answer your question, no. None of them have boyfriends. Not even Alison."

"Don't worry, you didn't have to tell me that." Spencer giggled at the sarcastic response. Another small silence passed before the boy talked once more. "Who's that girl that was next to you?"

"Hanna?"

"No, no. The one holding your arm."

"Oh," Spencer said with a smile she couldn't quite hide. "That's Emily."

"Emily, huh. Are you two close?" Josh asked, trying to gauge Spencer's reaction. The brunette didn't look up at him and began to get a little flustered. He smiled down at the girl beside him.

Just as he'd suspected.

"What gave you that impression?" Spencer asked, trying to seem inconspicuous, not realizing how miserably she was failing.

"Well, she was holding on to your arm. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that girls who aren't that close don't really do that." Spencer laughed before shrugging nonchalantly. She clearly couldn't see how much the boy was enjoying this.

"We're . . . Close." She answered simply, not entirely sure if she wanted to elaborate. Josh hummed beside her and smiled.

"She's pretty." Spencer shot him a look, to which he laughed before defending himself. "Not like that Spencer, geez. It's just an observation." The brunette watched him warily in a playful way before nodding and looking away.

"She is pretty." The brunette agreed, smiling a little. "Good observation."

"Yeah, well, I try." Spencer shook her head and rolled her eyes but still laughed. Josh watched the girl with a smirk before nodding to himself.

Exactly as he'd suspected.

It took a bit more of dodging and weaving between drunken bodies but they finally reached the spot they had left the girls only to find that they were one short. Emily was missing.

"About time," Alison called out to them as they approached. Spencer glanced around the room, trying to get a glimpse of her, only to be disappointed when she couldn't find her. There were too many people.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Had to convince Spencer not to do any shots." Josh joked, and the girls around him laughed. Spencer smiled slightly, but her worries were getting the best of her. Where was Emily?

"So, what did you bring us?" Alison asked with a smile, taking one of the drinks from Josh. "A little soda with something extra?" The blonde took a sip, expecting to taste alcohol but being unpleasantly surprised.

"More like just soda." Josh answered with a smile. "Hope you don't mind girls." Aria and Hanna both shook their heads with smiles and took their respective drinks. Josh was left with an extra drink in his hand and looked around, mimicking Spencer's movements. "Looks like you're one friend short."

"Yeah, where's Emily?" Spencer asked immediately after Josh finished talking, her voice not doing her the justice of hiding her worries.

"She went to the bathroom." Alison answered with a shrug, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, with a bottle of vodka." Hanna added in, swirling her drink in her hand. "Is this diet?"

"Yes."

"Wait, Hanna, what?" Spencer blurted out, her eyes wide with confusion.

"Well, we saw her over there," Hanna pointed to a table with assorted alcoholic drinks. "And she took a bottle of vodka and a cup and she left."

"God Hanna, could you have a bigger mouth?" Alison snapped at the other blonde, who recoiled immediately and sipped her drink.

"Leave her alone, Alison," Spencer stated, giving Alison a glare. The icy blonde rolled her eyes and took another sip of her drink. The brunette looked back over to Hanna, hoping the girl would speak again. "How do you know she went to the bathroom?" Hanna looked down, hesitant to answer, but not needing to when the other blonde spoke up.

"Because I told them," Alison intervened, raising an eyebrow at Spencer. "Are you done playing twenty questions?" Spencer looked at the blonde with furrowed eyebrows before something connected in her brain and she realized that Alison had probably said something to Emily to make her leave. She laughed in disbelief.

"You're unbelievable," Spencer said, shaking her head and sighing. She looked over to the boy beside her, who'd been watching the exchange with both curiosity and confusion. "Josh, I'm sorry, I have to go. I'll see you later." With that, the brunette pushed through the crowds of people and began her search for her crush. Josh watched her leave and shook his head.

He was so glad to be out of high school.

* * *

It had taken Spencer about half an hour to find Emily. She'd searched upstairs first, hoping that Hanna was right and her crush was in the bathroom, but all she found were two girls smoking and on their phones. The brunette was desperate enough to even ask them if they had seen the swimmer, but they hadn't, to her great misfortune.

One room down, the entire house left to go.

Spencer reluctantly knocked on every upstairs bedroom door and waited for responses. Part of her hoped that Emily was in one of the rooms, drinking alone on a bed or something, but most of her hoped that she wasn't anywhere near any bedroom.

She wasn't stupid - she read the news articles about girls getting raped all the time at these kinds of parties. Spencer wasn't sure what she'd do if she found Emily in that position, but she did know that she was very capable of murder, given the right circumstance.

Spencer didn't even bother knocking on the last door before she threw it open. Her throat closed as she saw the back of a girl's head while a guy sloppily made out with the front. The room was dimly lit, so she couldn't see much, except for one thing. Dark hair. Just like Emily's. The brunette felt her insides tighten and bile begin to rise from her stomach.

The guy seemed to realize that there was an audience and he pulled away from the girl he was practically devouring.

"Hey, this room's occupied," He stated loudly, and the brunette could clearly tell he was drunk but the brunette was too focused on the girl, whose head was starting to turn. The girl's head turned to reveal someone Spencer had never even met before, and the brunette's knees nearly buckled. The wave of relief that washed over the brunette was so large that she actually let out a breath. She was a little light headed after that, but she managed to mutter a small 'Sorry' before exiting the room. She fell back against the closed door and closed her eyes to gather herself.

She needed to find Emily before she went into cardiac arrest, or worse, before something happened to Emily. She couldn't bear the thought, and she wouldn't. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes. She bounded down the stairs and headed straight for the door, hoping that Emily was somewhere outside with the rest of the party goers.

She searched through the small groups of people and looked around the scattered ones but still came up empty. She headed towards the back of the house, where there were a lot less people, and still had no luck. She was starting to feel a cold, nervous sweat behind her neck and she could feel her heart thumping uncontrollably against her chest. She couldn't lose hope; Emily was here _somewhere _and she was going to find her.

Just as she turned around to look for the back door of the fraternity, she caught sight of someone sitting by themselves on a porch swing far from the house. She recognized the capris and the light pink top immediately. Her face broke out into a relieved smile and her body felt tired from how overworked it had been in such a short amount of time. Without another thought, she willingly walked over to the swing and to the girl that had quite literally driven her crazy.

"There you are," Spencer called out with a smile on her face as she approached the old porch swing away from the party, trying not to show how distressed she had just been. Honestly, who would put a porch swing so far away from a house? "I've been looking everywhere for you." As she got closer, the brunette realized that Emily wasn't alone. A red, plastic cup was keeping her company, and she could see a half empty bottle leaning beside the swing. Spencer felt a wave of uneasiness come over her as she came to a stop in front of her crush. So Emily had been drinking.

"Well, you found me." Emily answered sarcastically, taking a sip of whatever was left inside the cup. A pit of discomfort settled in Spencer's stomach as she watched the swimmer drink. She'd only ever seen Emily drunk once before, and that was because she'd been watching Alison flirt and make out with some guy. The brunette's stomach turned at the possibility that the same thing had happened, and that maybe Emily wasn't over Alison at all.

Spencer let out a small breath and sat beside her friend. Silence passed as she watched Emily take more sips, and the brunette felt her palms sweat. She had no idea what to say, so she let the first thing that came to her mind spill from her lips.

"You didn't actually drink something from here, did you? This stuff probably has more alcohol concentration than . . . Rubbing alcohol." Spencer stated, and Emily scoffed in response and stared into her cup. She was avoiding eye contact, the brunette realized. But why?

"So what if I did?" Emily snapped, tipping her head back as she downed the remains of whatever was left in the cup. Spencer's eyebrows shot up in surprise and she tried not to be hurt by the swimmer's tone. She watched Emily throw the cup aside to join millions of other discarded cups and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"What's up with you?" The brunette's voice was full of concern, not that Emily would have been able to pick up on it. The swimmer crossed her arms and smiled sarcastically. Spencer almost winced. She'd never seen Emily look more like Alison than in that instant.

"Nothing's wrong with me," The swimmer practically spat, her tone harsh. "Why don't you go back to your boyfriend. I'm sure he misses you."

"WHAT?" Spencer was so shocked that she actually leaned away from Emily to get a better look at her friend. Boyfriend? "What boyfriend, Em? Are you insane?" Spencer asked, laughing a little in disbelief. Now Emily was just being ridiculous.

"Yeah, I must be," Emily answered bitterly, her voice cracking slightly. "I actually thought that whatever was going on between us was real." Spencer's stomach dropped at the words and she immediately reached out to touch Emily's arm.

"Em - "

"Don't," Emily protested, quickly shrugging off the hand on her arm. She'd finally looked over at the brunette, and what Spencer saw almost broke her heart. "Just don't." Emily had the same look on her face as she did the last time she'd gotten drunk. She looked heart broken and angry and depressed, but the only difference was that this time, it was Spencer's fault. The brunette should have been happy, but all she could feel was an unbelievable amount of guilt.

She had to fix this. She'd done something wrong, and she was going to make it better.

"Come on," Spencer said, taking a deep breath and wrapping an arm around Emily's arm. Emily tried to pull her arm away, but Spencer was sober and a lot stronger at the moment. "Em, get up, come on."

"No," Emily snapped, trying and failing to pull her arm back. "Spencer, stop."

"We're leaving, come on." Spencer dragged Emily out of her seat, and the girl stumbled into her arms. Once she got her footing, however, the swimmer quickly pushed out of her arms and sought leverage on one of the porch swing's bars.

"We can't leave," Emily stated obviously. "We came here by taxi, and I didn't bring any money. And you probably didn't bring, either." Spencer crossed her arms and looked around the backyard. An idea quickly came to her and she shrugged.

"I know someone who'll give us a ride." Emily scoffed at her response.

"Who, _Josh?_" She asked bitterly, looking anywhere but at Spencer. Spencer huffed angrily and uncrossed her arms.

"Emily, there is nothing between me and Josh." The brunette stated clearly, but all Emily did was laugh.

"Whatever," The swimmer murmured, looking at the floor with annoyance. Spencer sighed in defeat and looked back around. The house was only a few feet away. She just hoped that she would be able to find Josh before Emily started throwing up or even worse, snarking at her more. She grabbed Emily's arm again, but the swimmer put up a fight, holding on to the porch swing with whatever strength she had left. The brunette let go and threw her arms up in defeat.

"Emily, please," Spencer pleaded in desperation, not knowing what else to do. "Can you please just come with me so I can get us a ride home? Please?" Emily looked at Spencer, her eyes half lidded and still very much bitter, but her alcohol couldn't disguise her soft spot for Spencer. Reluctantly, and clumsily, she let go of the bar and sighed. The brunette smiled a little and reached for her arm, but Emily stopped her quickly.

"I can walk fine by myself," She slurred a little, and as soon as she tried to walk forward, she tripped over the vodka bottle that she'd planted on the ground beside her. Spencer caught her once more, and Emily lingered helplessly in the girl's arms, her feelings betraying her once more.

"No, I don't think you can." Emily straightened herself and glared at Spencer but nevertheless let the brunette hold her arm and lead her towards the house. Spencer tried her hardest not to smile.

The house was still very much crowded and the music was still blaring out of speakers that Spencer couldn't find, but she didn't care. She needed to find Josh. She walked slowly so that she could get a good look around and find her friend, but it was mostly so Emily didn't lose her footing or get too dizzy.

She went back to the same place that they had been in when they arrived at the party. She was more than relieved to find Josh there, sitting on the counter and talking to a larger group of people. Spencer looked around a bit more, but couldn't spot Aria or Hanna. Or Alison.

She was mostly glad she didn't find Alison. She probably would have strangled the girl on the spot if she had found her.

Spencer walked Emily over to an empty chair awkwardly placed near a wall and helped the girl sit down.

"Em, I'm going to be right back, okay?" She said loud enough for the girl to hear, bending down so she could see her friend's face. "Promise me you'll stay right here?" Emily didn't respond, just crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. Spencer let out a flustered breath and placed her hand on her crush's arm. "Em, promise me. Please?"

Emily looked down at the brunette and already felt her head nodding helplessly. Spencer reached up to cup her cheek, and Emily hated that she melted into the brunette's touch, automatically closing her eyes. Spencer was gone a second later, leaving Emily to stare bitterly at the ground and grumble about how stupid she was to herself.

Spencer rushed into the kitchen and hadn't even gone all the way around the island before she called out for her friend. Josh looked up immediately and jumped off his seat on the counter. He met her halfway, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Everything alright, Spence?" He asked, picking up quickly on the girl's distress.

"Is your car here?" Spencer asked quickly, ignoring his question. If she had time, she would explain it to him later. Right now was not the time for storytelling.

"Um, yeah, it's out front. Why?"

"I need you to take my friend and I home. Can you do that?" Spencer asked, glancing back nervously at the spot she had left Emily. The swimmer was still there, staring at the ground drunkenly. The brunette was filled with only a little bit of relief.

"Sure, but is everything okay?" Josh asked once more, actually worried for the girl. He was no stranger to the types of things that arose from these parties. He hoped the girl he'd come to see as a younger sister hadn't been caught up in one of them.

"It will be once I get home. I'll explain everything when we get to my house." Josh nodded and followed after the flustered brunette. They came to a stop in front of Emily, who looked up and gave Josh a cold look. Josh moved his head back a little, not entirely sure why the girl was looking at him like he'd kicked a puppy.

"Come on, Em, we're going home." Spencer said softly, helping the girl up. Josh watched the scene with a small smile on his face, but then Emily shot him another look and his smile immediately dropped. Had he done something? "Okay, Josh, lead the way." Spencer said, and Emily scoffed immediately after.

Okay, clearly, he had done something.

The boy led the girls outside and a little down the block to a gray 2009 Honda Civic that looked to be in perfect condition. Emily laughed out loud.

"He even has a perfect car." She said with a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Em, stop." Spencer shushed, sending an apologetic look at Josh. Josh smiled in understanding and simply unlocked his car before making his way to the driver's side. Spencer opened the door and helped Emily inside. "Scoot over, Em."

"What for? Aren't you sitting on the passenger's side with _Josh_?" Emily asked sarcastically, bitterly spitting out the boy's name. Spencer sighed and shook her head.

"No, Emily, I'm sitting back here with you." By now, Josh had started the car and pretended to tune out the conversation, but was listening intently as he fastened his seatbelt.

"Why?" The swimmer asked, crossing her arms and purposely being difficult.

"Because I want to be with you back here. I'll write you an essay on why later if you want, but can you please just move over so we can get out of here?" Spencer's voice was becoming desperate again, but all she wanted was for Emily to see that she didn't want to be with Josh or any other boy. She just wanted to be with Emily, and she was getting frustrated that the girl was so adamant on believing otherwise.

Emily was a little surprised by the words, but eventually relented and moved over so that Spencer could slide in next to her. Spencer sat down and scooted closer to Emily to shut the door, and their legs touched because of that.

Spencer was wearing a summer dress that reached her knees, with horizontal stripes of white and blue on it, leaving her legs bare. Since Emily was wearing capris, her eyes focused in on where their bare legs touched. Her drunken mind wasn't allowing her to be subtle at all, and when Spencer turned around and saw what the girl was looking at, she pretended not to notice. She did, however, smile a little to herself and actually enjoy the moment while it lasted.

"All buckled up?" Josh asked, getting ready to put his car into drive. Spencer sighed and buckled her seatbelt, and watched as Emily did the same. Her crush, however, struggled to clip the belt into the buckle, and she smiled a little, despite the circumstance.

She reached over and guided Emily's hand, guiltily enjoying the electricity that shot through her veins when she touched the girl. Emily looked up at the brunette, the girl's hands still on hers, before she pulled away and looked forward.

"I could have buckled my own seatbelt." Spencer didn't answer, only sighed and told Josh that they were ready.

The ride was silent for the most part. Josh put on some music, but not a lot of radio stations were playing music. Most were just radio talk shows and callers talking to radio hosts about their life. It was, after all, almost 11:30.

Spencer had watched Emily out of the corner of her eye for most of the ride, still trying to process how the swimmer could have ever believed that she was going after Josh. The girl had practically told her that she should go help him. Everything was fine when she left. Everything looked fine . . .

This was Alison's fault. Whatever had happened, Spencer knew that she was the cause of it. She could practically see it on the blonde's face when she had talked to her at the party. Alison had said something to Emily to get her to drink, and despite the fact that she wanted to know what that was, now wasn't the time. She had to get her drunk best friend safely to her house and into bed to sleep off this disastrous night. Everything else could be dealt with once Emily was sober.

Thankfully enough for Spencer, Josh remembered how to get to her house without her having to tell him. Pretty soon, he was driving up Spencer's block and parking in front of her house.

"We're here, Em." Spencer told Emily, who looked as if she was beginning to doze off. Emily rubbed her face and nodded, clumsily unbuckling her belt and opening her car door. Spencer unbuckled her seatbelt quickly and opened her door, racing to meet Emily on the other side. Josh opened his door and watched as Spencer opened the door for Emily to get out. He stayed in his spot, not wanting to disturb the scene in front of him, but ready to move if he was needed. Part of him knew however, as he watched Spencer walk closely behind Emily, that he probably wouldn't be needed.

Spencer opened her side door quickly and grabbed Emily's hand to lead her to the couch. Emily sat down, her eyes half lidded, and leaned back into the couch. The brunette ignored the butterflies that fluttered to life in her stomach at the sight and went back towards the door. Now was not the time for butterflies.

"I'll be right back, okay? Just don't fall asleep."

"Going to kiss your boyfriend goodnight?" It seemed the exhaustion hadn't taken the snark out of Emily. Spencer sighed, feeling like she was at a complete loss. _Tomorrow, Spencer. Everything will be better tomorrow._

Spencer left the living room and closed the door behind her before she rushed over to where Josh was standing beside his car.

"Thank you so much for this, Josh." Spencer thanked with a smile. "You have no idea how grateful I am."

"No worries, kid." Josh insisted, holding his hand up. "I was glad to help. Drunk girls roaming around parties like that aren't good." The emotions Spencer had felt when she was searching through the bedrooms flashed through her and she swallowed uncomfortably, nodding in agreement. She let out a breath and smiled at the boy.

"So, I'll see you when I see you then. Should I tell Melissa you stopped by?"

"No," Josh said with a laugh, shaking his head. "I think it's better if you didn't." Spencer nodded and was about to say her final goodbyes to the boy when he asked another question. "It's her, isn't it?" He inquired with a small smile, playing with the keys in his hand.

"I'm sorry?" Spencer asked, her eyebrows furrowing, not understanding the question.

"Your someone," Josh cleared up, his smile growing. Spencer felt her stomach bottom out at the clarification. "She's your someone, isn't she?"

"No," Spencer answered quickly, laughing and shaking her head. Josh raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Of course not, we're just friends."

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." The brunette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She looked down at the ground, unable to look up at the boy who'd figured out her deepest secret in one night.

"Is it that obvious?" She whispered, sighing afterwards. Josh smiled sympathetically and half shrugged.

"Maybe not to everyone else, but like you said, I'm a good guesser." Spencer nodded, not sure of what to say to that. Was there even a proper response to someone guessing your crush? Josh tilted his head a little, clearly not done speaking. The brunette was starting to realize that he was never quite done speaking. "I saw the way she was looking at you." Spencer's head shot up at that, making Josh smile even wider. She cleared her throat nonchalantly and looked away once more.

"How was she looking at me?" The brunette asked, sounding smaller than Josh had ever heard her. He realized then just how bad the younger girl really had it. He smiled at the thought before answering.

"The same way you were looking at her." Spencer rolled her eyes, feeling her face growing hot. She really was that obvious.

"Gee, that's helpful." Josh chuckled at the statement and crossed his arms over her chest.

"Look, I know I'm not exactly an expert on love here," Spencer smiled a little at that. "But I've seen that look before, Spence. I recognize it from the mirror." Josh's smile widened when Spencer let out a laugh. A small silence passed before he continued. "Don't let that slip between your fingertips. If it feels right, it probably is. Screw anyone who doesn't think so." Spencer looked down, her eyes stinging with tears. Perhaps it was good that Josh knew about her and Emily. She definitely needed to hear that after tonight.

"Thank you, Josh." She whispered, looking up to her friend with a smile. Josh smiled brightly at the younger girl and nodded.

"Personally, I think you two look good together." Spencer laughed gleefully, wiping a little at her eyes.

"Yeah, I think so too." Josh engulfed the brunette into a hug, which Spencer returned wholeheartedly. When he pulled away, the boy smiled down at her and gave the brunette one more pat on the shoulder before speaking.

"I'll see you, kid." He said with a smile before separating himself from her completely and going back to the driver's side of his car. Spencer sighed, smiling and shaking her head. A thought came to mind, and before she could stop herself, it was already leaving her lips.

"Melissa doesn't deserve you, Josh," Spencer admitted truthfully, watching as the boy looked up after he opened his door. "She probably never will." Josh put his hand on top of the hood of his car and smiled.

"Maybe that's true, but that doesn't stop me from wanting her." The boy answered with a shrug. Spencer smiled sadly and nodded, not sure of what else to say, but hoping that Josh would one day move on from his sister and find a girl who could really love him. "Goodnight, Spencer." Was the boy's last goodbye before he got into his car. Spencer simply waved at him as he drove off and sighed. She turned around to face her house and smiled a little to herself.

_If it feels right, it probably is_. Her smile grew as she began walking back to her house, where she knew she would be greeted by her bitter, drunk friend. Despite the fact that the brunette knew what she was in for, it didn't really seem to matter. It was Emily, after all. She'd pluck the stars right out of the sky for the girl if she asked her to.

God, she needed to stop reading poetry.

Spencer opened the side door of the house and was greeted by the sight of Emily, with her arms crossed over her chest and staring at the coffee table. The brunette almost laughed at how adorable the scene was, but she had a feeling that Emily wouldn't appreciate that at the moment. Spencer closed the door behind her, causing the swimmer to finally look up at her.

"Must have been some goodnight kiss." Emily muttered bitterly, looking back down at the table. Spencer let out a breath and walked over to her friend.

"There was no kiss." Spencer said in a sigh as she sat down beside Emily. "But you probably don't believe that."

"Well, you are the smart one." Emily answered sarcastically, leaning back against the couch. She sat up suddenly, a sudden look of determination on her face that confused Spencer. "I just want to know why you thought it was okay to lead me on. The honest truth." Spencer whipped around to stare at Emily, giving her a sincere look she hoped the girl would register.

"I wasn't leading you on." Spencer whispered truthfully, unable to disguise the hurt in her voice at Emily's assumption. Emily smiled ruefully at the brunette.

"Really? Because it felt like you were. You know, between the laughing and the kissing and all those words - "

"I meant all of it, Emily," Spencer had now turned her body to completely face the girl and grabbed her hand out of habit, trying to convince her. "And I still do." Emily pulled her hand away, and Spencer felt her insides crumble a little. How was she going to fix this? It was starting to feel hopeless.

"Well, if you meant all of it then why did you spend so much time with _him_ at the party?" Spencer laughed and shook her head. She felt as if she'd stepped into the Twilight Zone.

"Emily, I spent _five_ minutes getting drinks for you and the other girls and then spent _thirty_ minutes looking for _you_." Spencer emphasized loudly, hoping that Emily would finally believe her instead of bump heads with her. "And I was going crazy looking for you, might I mention. At some point, I even thought . . ."

Spencer cut her rambling short, willing those feelings to go down once more. She hadn't realized she looked down at her hands until she looked back up at Emily, who was staring at her with what looked to be shock. She smiled a little in relief. The swimmer looked like she was finally coming around.

"I didn't know that." Emily murmured, looking down at her hands. Her mind was still very foggy, and her emotions still felt very bruised, but realization was starting to come the more sober she became. But the more sober she became, the more confused she felt, to the point where she didn't know what she was supposed to feel: Upset because her mind had worked her into a jealous frenzy, or happy because Spencer seemed to be proving all her jealous thoughts wrong.

"Yeah, I know." Spencer answered quietly, causing Emily to look up at the brunette. She found a small smile on the girl's face, despite the crap that the swimmer had just put her through. Her stomach came to life at the sight and hated the fact that she missed the swirling feeling.

Her head suddenly pounded painfully from over thinking the situation and closed her eyes with a groan, reaching up to touch her head. Spencer frowned a little at her crush's obvious pain and grabbed the hand that wasn't occupied, causing Emily to open her eyes.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs." She said with a smile, carefully helping Emily off the couch. Emily's thoughts were starting to become clearer the less she thought about her jealousy and a sudden, blaring reminder came into her head and she stopped Spencer from walking.

"What about my mom?" She asked, trying not to slur her words. Her mouth suddenly felt very heavy and dry. Spencer smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. I'll send a text from your phone saying you're with me." Emily nodded in understanding and allowed herself to be lead up the stairs to Spencer's bedroom. More thoughts started popping into her mind, and her mental filter wasn't nearly as strong as it usually was when she was sober, so all her thoughts started coming right out of her mouth.

"I don't have a change of clothes." Emily admitted as she tried to stand up straight in one spot while Spencer rummaged for clothing. Spencer smiled to herself as she pulled out two pairs of pajama bottoms.

"Em, we've been friends for years and have had countless sleepovers. You don't think I've kept the clothes you leave here for these situations?" The brunette put down the pajama bottoms on the bed and looked for some t-shirts in another drawer. "Besides, we're the same height, give or take. You could always wear my stuff."

"What about your parents? I mean, won't they think it's weird I'm sleeping over again?" Emily crossed her arms over her chest, stumbling slightly but regaining her balance. Spencer watched her, making sure she was okay, before smiling and shaking her head with a confused look.

"My parents love you, Emily. They think you're the most, and I quote, 'well-mannered and respectable' of all my friends." The brunette answered, her smile growing when she watched Emily look down and hide her own smile.

"And," She continued, placing two shirts on the bed beside the pajamas. "They're out of town with Melissa and Ian. Something about some show in New York or something." The brunette finished with a shrug, grabbing one of the shirts and one of the pajamas and walking over to Emily. "Now, you can go into the bathroom and change and I'll be back with some water. Okay?" The swimmer looked down at the clothing and nodded her consent.

"Okay." She murmured, taking the clothing from Spencer's hands and relishing in the feeling that raced through her body when their hands touched. She smiled at the brunette a little before leaving the room and going to the bathroom to change.

Once she got into the bathroom, Emily was overcome with a nervous feeling suddenly. It felt like the night before all over again, but this time, she barely had control over her actions. _Well, I barely had control over my actions last night, too._ She rolled her eyes at her thoughts and shook her head, putting her clothing down beside the sink. It was ridiculous to even feel this way. She was drunk and nothing was going to happen . . . Right?

She had to calm down. It was just Spencer. She woke up beside her that morning perfectly fine. _Well, not perfectly. It was actually pretty embarrassing and - Oh God, Emily, stop! Just get dressed and stop being an idiot._ She looked up into the mirror and nodded to herself before wincing at how horrible she looked.

The little bit of eyeliner and mascara she'd put on had smudged. She couldn't remember crying during the evening, but it looked as if she might have shed a few tears.

Emily quickly turned on the faucet and washed her face of the makeup. She dried her face quickly with a towel and let out a sigh when she looked back into the mirror. She smiled to herself and nodded. She felt better already.

Clumsily, she began to undress herself, grabbing on to the sink many times so she didn't fall. She finally got her party clothes off and reached for her pajamas and threw them on. She looked back into the mirror and held her hair back to put it into a ponytail, but realized that she must've lost her hair tie at the party. She huffed and sighed, staring back into the mirror with a frown. _Fine, I'll just go on without one._

She reached for the toothbrush that Spencer kept for her whenever she slept over and began brushing her teeth thoroughly. She didn't want Spencer to sleep next to someone who smelled like a brewery. She was also careful not to brush back too far in fear of vomiting, which she probably would do if she wasn't careful. She washed out her mouth and put her toothbrush back before looking at herself once more in the mirror. She smiled and nodded to herself again before heading to the door.

Emily's happiness was cut short when she opened the door a little too quickly for her own reflexes and successfully banged her head on it while it was opening. She yelped in shock and grabbed her forehead, rubbing the injured spot and huffing angrily. _Of course._ She blinked away the tears of surprise that sprung up and cleared her throat before walking back to Spencer's bedroom.

When she walked in, she found Spencer, with her back turned towards the door, and shirtless. Without a bra. Emily's eyes widened, but she was scared to make herself known and have the brunette turn around and -

_Oh God, Emily, now is not the time to imagine that._

Emily waited with owlish eyes for the brunette to put on her t-shirt before she made any sudden movements. The brunette eventually turned around and a look of surprise came on her face when she saw the swimmer standing there.

"How long have you been standing there?" Spencer asked, her mouth forming a small smile when Emily's mouth opened and closed a few times.

"I-I just got here." Emily lied, mentally berating herself for faltering. Spencer smirked and moved the blanket back on her bed with a nod. Emily felt her insides burn up at the look on Spencer's face and she thought she was either going to be very sick or very lucky. Spencer looked up again at the girl and her eyebrows furrowed when she took a second look.

"Why is your forehead red?" The brunette asked in confusion, going around the bed and towards Emily to observe the red, blaring mark on the girl's head. Emily covered the spot immediately, and winced at the pain that the pressure caused.

"It's nothing, just bumped my head." She excused quickly, her breath catching when Spencer was face to face with her. The brunette removed Emily's hand slowly and observed the spot, her face contorting into a small wince at the sight. Emily couldn't tell what her brain was foggy from anymore - the alcohol, the head bump, or Spencer's touch and proximity.

"Do you want some ice?" Spencer asked, her voice full of concern. The fluttering in Emily's stomach increased dramatically, to the point where she felt a little dizzy.

"No," She squeaked quietly, her heart thumping against her chest the closer Spencer got to her face. Spencer's eyes finally met hers and Emily was sure she was probably going to collapse if the brunette didn't move away. "I'm fine." She added, willing her eyes not to look down at Spencer's lips. They did anyways, much to her dismay, and when she looked up, she found Spencer looking at her with a small smirk on her face. Oh God, she was in so much trouble.

"Okay." Spencer said quietly, letting go of Emily's hand, which the swimmer was hyperaware that she was holding. She backed away and went around the bed once more, and Emily went to her side of the bed and sat down, finally able to breathe normally again. She took a second to gather herself and spotted a glass of water and a bottle of Advil on the nightstand near her.

"I don't have a headache." Emily stated, looking behind her at the brunette who was getting into bed. Spencer smiled as she adjusted her position to look over at Emily, resting her head in her hand.

"It's not for right now." Spencer responded, her smile growing when Emily groaned at the realization of how big her hangover was going to be tomorrow. She pushed the covers aside and got into to bed, adjusting her position to comfortably look at Spencer. The brunette turned over and shut off the lamp on her bedside table, before turning over and waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness as she stared at Emily.

Both girls stared at each other in silence, their thoughts racing but neither wanting to speak. Spencer was mostly glad that Emily had started sobering up, despite still being clumsy. There was going to be a lot they needed to talk about tomorrow, to add to the load they already needed to talk about in regards to their relationship. She smiled softly at the girl in front of her, who smiled back immediately, and was overcome with a huge wave of relief - that seemed to be something happening a lot tonight.

_If it feels right, it probably is._

Spencer couldn't think of one thing that felt more right than being with Emily.

"Come here." She murmured quietly, reaching out to Emily with her hand. The swimmer found her hand underneath the covers and allowed herself to be pulled until she was flush against Spencer's chest. Between the hand running through her, probably messy, hair and the rhythmic heartbeat against her ear, Emily was quickly drifting off, her body far more exhausted than she thought it had been. Spencer kissed the top of her head softly and closed her eyes, letting herself drift off with a final thought.

_Personally, I think you two look good together. _She smiled tiredly to herself.

She couldn't agree more.

* * *

_A/N: :)!_


	5. A Mermaid in Shining Armor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and all characters belong to their respectful owners.**

Summary: After giving up her first kiss to Alison and being horribly rejected, Emily is heartbroken and unsure if she ever wants to kiss anyone ever again . . . until someone changes her mind.

Rating: **Strong T**

_A/N: Well, better late than never right? I'm sorry that this chapter is over a week over due, since I do try to update every month, but at the moment, I'm hearing back from colleges about stuff like financial aid, etc. and I needed to focus on that for most of the month. However, now everything's good and I can go back to my regularly scheduled updates, yay! :)_

_Some notes before we start: I'd like to give a shout out to **chxndelier** who is honestly one of the sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure of talking to :) On top of that, I'm absolutely hooked on her fic, **Straight and Fast**, which is a spemily fic, so go on over and give it a shot because it's absolutely amazing!_

_I'd love to say I was satisfied with the season five finale, but wouldn't that be the biggest lie on this planet? Howeverrrrr, I'm not nearly as mad as most people are because, let's be real here, the spemily in that episode was a gift from the gods._

_VERY IMPORTANT: Since this fic is coming to its close in about two or three chapters(don't kill me pls), I've decided to pursue some other fic plans to continue this story, yay! I will most definitely be doing a sequel to this story, but how do you guys feel about a Spencer-centric prequel? Let me know in a review, perhaps?_

_One more thing, I promise. If you follow me on tumblr, you know that a few weeks ago, I posted up two playlists for the story. Despite my probably horrible taste in music lol, if you guys do know what I'm talking about, might I suggest track number 8 for either playlist once you get to the middle of the chapter? It's what I was listening to while I was writing it. And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, might I suggest you listen to **I Wanna Be Yours** by Arctic Monkeys or **Runaway **by Grace Mitchell._

_Okay, I'm done, enjoy the chapter :) Again, apologies for being so late and for making it so long again, but you guys see, to like that so yeah, enjoy!_

* * *

The first thing that Emily registered when she woke up was the scent of violets. Sweet, soft, soothing.

Spencer.

A lazy smile formed on her lips as she felt the girl beneath her breathe in a slow, rhythmic tempo, one of someone that was most likely asleep. Then again, for all she knew, the brunette could be awake as ever. She never knew with Spencer, but she kind of loved that about her. She loved that there were still so many things to know about the brunette, as if Spencer was a brand new book with the binding still intact, just waiting to be read and devoured and loved. Emily wanted to read her cover to cover and memorize her lines, the contours of her body and the smile on her lips, the melody of her laughter and the rhythm of her heart.

She wanted Spencer completely, and it had taken her far too long to realize that.

Despite her extremely comfortable position – it was definitely up there with Cloud 9 - Emily moved her head a little, and that was her first mistake. Just by the small action of moving, she felt a dull ache in her head and on her forehead. The ache migrated to her eyes, and a huge throb vibrated through her skull. Her memories were coming back very slowly and slightly blurry, and the swimmer had a distinct feeling that it wasn't because of a bad nights' sleep – it definitely was _not_ that – which could only mean one thing.

She'd been drinking the night before – and judging by the steadily growing headache, she'd drank quite a bit.

Her second mistake was trying to open her eyes, for when she did, the first thing they focused on was the sunlight shining through Spencer's windows. The garish, bright light nearly burned her eyes – she actually thought her retinas were sizzling – and she shut them with a loud groan – loud enough to wake the sleeping girl beneath her. Emily barely registered the large intake of breath beneath her as she nuzzled her head into the crook of the brunette's neck, trying her best to escape the brightness that had ironed itself behind her eyelids.

As she tried to control the unbearable pounding of her eyes and her mind – her entire head, in general – she felt the brunette shuffle a little, and then felt a soft pair of lips against her forehead. She adored the butterflies that erupted in her stomach but could barely enjoy them from how much her head hurt. It felt as if there was a drum trapped inside there – the ones that you see strapped to percussionists in marching bands – and it would just not _stop_.

"Just a second," Spencer whispered softly, her voice sending chills through Emily, but the swimmer was glad that her crush had used such a delicate tone of voice. She doubted she would be able to take a normal speaking voice, even if it was Spencer's.

She felt the brunette slowly slip away from her, the girl's body inadvertently blocking the sunlight that was still trying to kill her, and she was both thankful and disappointed that Spencer had left her side. She heard the distinct sound of curtains closing and she could see behind her eyelids that the room had darkened considerably. That didn't mean she had any intentions of opening her eyes, though. Soft footsteps made their way around the bed and they stopped at her side – even though she was on Spencer's side now. She heard the sound of tablets shaking and a bottle being closed.

"Em," She heard Spencer coo softly and felt a hand on her side. Emily groaned ineloquently, and she would have been embarrassed by the gross sound if she weren't in so much pain.

She had no idea that Spencer was smiling softly at her – finding the sound completely endearing and adorable and not at all distasteful.

Emily felt the hand slowly trying to turn her, but her body felt like lead. She knew she needed to use some sort of brain power to will her to turn, but that clearly was not happening.

"Sweetie, you have to sit up to take the pain killers." Spencer murmured softly, and Emily felt the bed dip behind her as the hand on her side went to her stomach. Sparks erupted from the brunette's touch and the swimmer let out a breath, feeling the familiar heat spread throughout her body. "I'll help you, but you have to help me too, okay? Come on, let's try to sit up." Emily groaned at the command, wanting nothing more than to lie in bed and relish the feeling of Spencer's touch, but she knew that sweet relief was only a few movements away.

With a clenched jaw and balled fists, Emily willed herself into a sitting position – with Spencer's arms helping her up, of course – and did her best to open her eyes. The pain was still there, but it had dulled considerably now that the curtains were closed over the window. She kept her eyes half lidded as she took in the calming atmosphere of the room and attempted to adjust to the sudden change. She turned her head slowly to look at Spencer and nearly became dizzy at her heart's sudden change of pace.

The brunette had tied her hair up into a ponytail and was smiling at her with a look mixed between sympathy and adoration. Emily loved it when Spencer tied up her hair – not to say that she didn't love it down, because she did. But whenever she put her hair up, she could see every beautifully, breath-taking feature the girl had to offer – features that were inadvertently making her fall harder for the girl. She'd always wondered why she stared at Spencer just a little longer than usual when the girl was playing field hockey or tennis or any of the other millions of sports her crush played. She'd always been a little more than mesmerized by Spencer, and Emily couldn't understand how she hadn't spotted it before.

Spencer held out the hand holding the pills, encouraging Emily to take them, and held a glass of water in her other hand. The swimmer quickly reached for the pills, wanting to finally be rid of the incessant pounding in her skull, and placed them on her tongue before grabbing the glass and taking greedy gulps of water. She hadn't realized how dry and coarse her throat had been until the water flowed soothingly down it. She cleared her throat a few times after finishing her water and smiled thankfully at Spencer, allowing the brunette to take the glass from her.

"Thanks," She whispered quietly, still trying to get her mouth not to feel like sandpaper. She watched as the brunette beside her smiled and placed the glass down on the bedside table before leaning back against the headboard. She patted the space beside her with a warm smile, and Emily's heart melted to her fluttering stomach.

"Come here," The brunette murmured, and the swimmer did as she was told, scooting closer until her back collided comfortably with the headboard. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, allowing the coolness of the wood against her head to ease her throbbing mind.

She wondered suddenly if the painkillers were fast-acting. She hoped they were, she really didn't want to deal with this pain for half an hour. Did you have to eat before taking painkillers? She was almost sure that it wasn't necessary, but then again, how could she possibly trust anything she thought with the stampede in her skull?

She looked over to Spencer, her mouth open in preparation to ask the question roaming around in her head, but the words stopped in her throat when she saw Spencer watching her with a smile – the one she reserved only for Emily. The swimmer swallowed thickly, her insides lighter than air, and smiled back a little.

"What?" She whispered softly, watching as Spencer's smile widened, almost bashfully. Oh God, she was so doomed.

"You're beautiful." The brunette hummed softly, and Emily had to take in a breath when she realized she'd been holding it the entire time. She laughed a little and shook her head, feeling her face heat up at the compliment.

"I probably look like a mess," Emily insisted, running a hand through her hair absently, trying to straighten it out. It was Spencer's turn to shake her head and laugh, the sound sending chills through the swimmer's body.

"Maybe," Spencer teased with a grin, scooting closer to the girl until their bodies were flush against each other. She slowly reached down and entwined their hands, smiling at the familiar electricity that shot through her at the touch. Emily all but melted at the action. "But you're a beautiful mess." The swimmer felt a new wave of butterflies fill her stomach and she groaned softly, letting her head fall on to Spencer's shoulder.

"You have to stop doing that," The swimmer murmured into the girl's shoulder, inhaling the soothing scent she'd come to adore. She could feel Spencer's body move as she laughed, and smiled against the girl's shoulder.

"Stop doing what, speaking the truth?" Spencer flirted playfully, turning her head a little to watch Emily turn red from her words and smiling triumphantly at her accomplishment.

"I swear I'm going to puke on you." Emily muttered, trying to get the girl to actually stop, despite loving the feeling that flowed through her whenever Spencer spoke. Her stomach, however, wasn't as agreeable.

"Wow, that's hot." The brunette deadpanned, causing the swimmer to laugh uncontrollably into the brunette's shoulder while Spencer tried to hold back her own laughter as she continued. "No, I mean I love vomit."

"You're so gross." Emily laughed, lifting her head a little to look at the brunette, who was biting her lip as her body shook with silent laughter. Their laughter died down and the swimmer smiled softly at the brunette, her stomach still fluttering happily. "Still beautiful?" She asked, referring to herself, a playful look on her face.

"Absolutely," Spencer answered without hesitation, smiling as she turned to look at the girl beside her. Emily's breath caught in her throat at the proximity of their faces and internally groaned when she saw the brunette's eyes dip to her lips. Clearly, they were thinking the same thing.

There was nothing more she wanted to do than to kiss the life out of Spencer Hastings at that second. She was about a thousand percent sure that if there hadn't been anything holding her back, she would have been on the brunette like peanut butter on jelly. But, of course, there _was_ something holding her back, and it was reminding her every minute or so when her brain pulsed painfully.

Emily frowned in defeat and groaned, letting her head fall back on to Spencer's shoulder. Spencer's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, definitely not expecting _that_ reaction.

"I swear, Spencer Hastings," Emily muttered against the girl's shoulder, and the brunette's eyebrows shot up in amusement from hearing her full name. "If my head didn't have a jackhammer in it, I'd kiss you so hard right now." Spencer felt her heart thunder in her chest at the admission and laughed a little, feeling her face grow hot.

"I love it when you flirt with me." Emily giggled against the girl's shoulder, shaking her head and sighing. She felt her hand being lifted up – she'd almost forgotten they were entwined, it felt so natural – and smiled as she felt the brunette press her lips against the back of her hand.

"I have an idea," Spencer began, speaking against the swimmer's hand before removing it from her lips. "How about you I get some clothes for you and you take a shower here. I promise you'll feel a lot better." Emily hummed against her shoulder and nodded.

"That sounds nice," Emily remarked, lifting her head from her crush's shoulder, her face contorted into one of contemplation. "I think you missed one little thing, though."

"Really?" Spencer asked with a smirk, one eyebrow raised in amusement.

"As amazing as it is to believe that _you_ missed something," Emily said with an eye roll, trying and failing to suppress a smile. "You forgot about the fact that I don't have any underwear here. And as generous as you are with your clothing, I am not going to wear your underwear, Spencer." The brunette laughed out loud and shook her head.

"You do have underwear here." Emily moved her head back a little to look at her friend with an incredulous look of shock.

"What?" The swimmer sputtered, not entirely sure she'd heard that right.

"I wasn't kidding when I told you that you've left _a lot _of clothes here, Em."

"So you kept my underwear?" Emily laughed in shock and disbelief, more shocked than creeped out. Spencer turned to her, a blush creeping up her neck as she tried to come up with something to say.

"I mean, it's not like that! I don't touch it or anything, I just put it away in case you have an accident or something – "

"An accident?" Emily said, still laughing uncontrollably at the situation and at how ridiculously adorable Spencer looked as she fumbled with her words. "Spence, I'm not two."

"I – I know, but still, I mean what else was I supposed to do with it?"

"You could have given them back to me." Emily answered playfully, tilting her head as Spencer let out a small, flustered noise.

"I guess it always slipped my mind whenever you were over." Spencer admitted abashedly.

"Oh, I'm sure it did." The swimmer whispered with a smirk as she watched Spencer gulp at her remark.

"Emily – "

"Spencer, I'm just kidding," She soothed with a laugh, running her thumb on the back of Spencer's hand like the brunette had done for her so many times. "I believe you. And as much as I like you, I can't take you seriously while my head is still pounding." She watched as a small, shy smile bloomed on Spencer's face before the girl let out a laugh.

"So, you like me?" Emily's mouth dropped open in disbelief, another laugh leaving her lips at the girl's ridiculous question.

"Did you really just ask that?" Spencer smiled and looked down at their hands before taking in a deep breath.

"Well, I wasn't really sure if you were willing to after last night. I thought maybe you might've just . . ." The brunette trailed off uncertainly, and Emily's smile fell a little when she realized that Spencer was serious.

A sudden feeling came over her, almost like she'd been struck by lightning. She wasn't the only one insecure about their relationship. Spencer Hastings, the most confident and fearless person she knew, was scared that she'd lost her. The brunette was actually questioning her about the only thing she was sure of – and she was more than sure she was head over heels for Spencer. The brunette had assured time and time again that Emily was the only girl for her. With a smile, the swimmer decided that it was time to repay the favor.

"Hey," Emily murmured, turning her body to face the girl better and reaching out to lift Spencer's head slowly. The brunette looked at her sheepishly, and the swimmer felt her heart melt for the millionth time that week. She cupped the girl's cheek with her hand and smiled softly. "A little bit of alcohol and jealousy isn't going to get rid of me, Spencer Hastings." Spencer smiled against her hand, but the smile quickly turned into a bashful grin, and Emily happily welcomed the warmth that radiated throughout her body.

"Good." The brunette answered happily, and Emily was so caught up in her crush that she didn't even bother pulling away when Spencer leaned in to kiss her. She was tired of fighting the urge to kiss her anyways, and she definitely missed the girl's lips. Hangover be damned.

* * *

Spencer, of course, had been right. As soon as Emily felt the warm water cascading over her, everything from last night seemed to wash down the drain. There wasn't much to forget anyways, since she could barely remember anything from the party. What she could remember, however, came back in bits and pieces mostly.

She - unfortunately - remembered her reason for drinking, but a lot after that was a blur, so much so that she could hardly remember the words Alison had said - thankfully for her. She did remember being in a car, then in Spencer's living room, but she couldn't recall any details about anything that happened in either place. The memories came back a little easier after that, and she assumed it must have been because she had started to become a little more sober last night. She remembered going to the bathroom to get ready for bed, as well as fantastically slamming her head against the door - that was a lot of fun.

And then came the very vivid memory of Spencer's naked back as she was putting on her shirt. Her heart still pounded as she thought about it, even now. The hot water wasn't helping.

No matter how she tried, Emily still couldn't force the images of a half-naked Spencer out of her head. Just the simple fact that if the brunette had decided to turn around, Emily would gotten a glimpse of something she'd shamefully dreamed of - even if it was only once.

It truly surprised her how intimate she wanted to be with Spencer. Her thoughts about Alison had been so innocent - maybe naive was a better word – but the swimmer had to remind herself that Alison had never kissed her in the intense, mind-numbing way that Spencer did. Despite all that, however, Emily had never thought of herself as a sexual person – she didn't have nearly enough experience, anyways - but something about the brunette drove her crazy with more than just infatuation.

After their private sleepover, she found herself, on more than one occasion, daydreaming about what Spencer's skin felt like beneath her fingertips, what spots she would kiss on her neck to bring moans from the girl, and what places she would have to touch to make her cry out. She almost felt guilty for thinking about her best friend in such a way, but the guiltier she felt, the more the thoughts came, to the point where she willingly brought them on. Emily was caught between worried and excited whenever she thought about kissing Spencer again, both fearing and hoping that her one of her inappropriate thoughts might play out. In truth, she wished she could help it, but she was totally and completely doomed - happily so. Spencer set her whole being on fire, and God, did she want to burn.

Emily reached out for the shower knob and turned it, feeling immediate relief when she felt the water cool down. If she couldn't calm her body down, then a cold shower would have to do it for her. Teenage hormones really sucked, and she was starting to learn that the hard way.

As soon as she finished her shower, she got out and dried herself before setting to the task of putting her clothes on. Spencer wasn't kidding when she told her she'd left a lot of clothes there. Emily had gotten a glimpse of the drawer Spencer kept just for her clothing and she was more than a little shocked. There had been a few shorts, some for sleeping, maybe one or two skirts and a pair of jeans. There were also some shirts there, specifically a Rosewood Sharks swimming t-shirt that she'd been looking for _everywhere_.

And then, folded neatly in the corner of the drawer, were two or three pairs of panties. Emily had actually recalled the few times where they'd gone swimming and had brought extra underwear in her bag - her mother always reminded her to be prepared. She also remembered asking Spencer if she could leave some of her clothing in her room, to which the brunette agreed. She obviously knew that her underwear was already in Spencer's possession – it wasn't a big deal in those days; she trusted the brunette, after all – but that didn't mean that she was going to tell Spencer that. She was far too busy enjoying the brunette's flustered attempts to look away whenever they made eye contact, and almost burst out laughing when she heard a muttered, 'It's only underwear, gosh.'

Emily smiled to herself as she began to pull on her clothing, which consisted of one of the shorts and that Sharks tee she'd been missing. She grabbed her towel and tried to dry her hair as best as she could, but it was still mostly damp when she was done. She didn't feel like blow drying it - not that she could find a blow dryer, anyways - so she opted on letting it air dry. The summer air wouldn't get her sick, as she learned from experience through her swim practices.

After brushing her teeth and putting her hair into a ponytail, – it dried better that way – Emily stepped out of the bathroom with her clothing from last night in her arms, shivering a little when the cool air hit her. She walked back into Spencer's bedroom, but was disappointed to find that the girl wasn't in there. She sighed a little and walked into the room. When she sat down on the bed, she absentmindedly began folding her clothes while simultaneously trying to spot her shoes. She honestly had no idea what she'd done with them. It didn't look like they were in the room. Maybe she'd left them in the bathroom?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs and her stomach swirled with anticipation. She turned a little to face the door and she grinned when she saw Spencer in the doorway, holding a glass of orange juice and a plate with a muffin on it. The brunette was a little shocked to see her, but returned the grin with her own shy smile.

"Hi," She greeted with a laugh, walking a little further into the room. "I figured you might be hungry but I didn't think there would be time to make you an actual breakfast before you got out, so I just tried my luck with this." The brunette explained, looking to the food in her hands. Emily's heart fluttered at the gesture, taking in a breath to try to calm herself from squealing.

"It's fine," Emily assured with a smile, moving her clothing to the nightstand and patting the now empty space beside her. Her cheeks were beginning to hurt from smiling so much. "I don't think my stomach could take a regular breakfast right now." Once Spencer sat down beside her, Emily reached out for the orange juice, purposely making their fingers graze each other as she took the glass from Spencer's hands. The familiar thrill that ran through her put another small smile on her face as she grabbed the plate and put it on the nightstand beside her clothing. "Especially not a Hastings breakfast." Emily added as an afterthought, smirking at the way Spencer's eyebrows shot up.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" The brunette asked, pretending to be offended. Emily tried her hardest not to laugh as she sipped her juice.

"I've seen what you put into your protein shake when you make it. I don't care what anyone says, that stuff is just - yuck." Emily shivered genuinely, trying to forget the ingredients of _Spencer's Success Shake_. Spoiler alert: Not only had Spencer come up with the recipe, but she had also come up with the name.

"It's not that bad." Spencer muttered with embarrassment, frowning a little. Emily swore she was going to melt into a puddle on the bedroom floor from how her insides felt.

"It's not that good." The swimmer responded with a smile, trying her hardest not to lean over and kiss the frown off her crush's face. Spencer, in turn, crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"You haven't even tried it, so you have no right to judge, Emily Fields." Emily giggled at the use of her full name and put down her glass.

"Fair enough." She conceded with a smile. She watched as Spencer's chestnut irises roamed over her face with a small smile, and her stuttered multiple times whenever she thought the girl was looking at her lips. Her breath caught in her throat when the brunette lifted her hand, but she relaxed - with a hint of disappointment – when her hand went to her ponytail.

"Your hair's still wet." Spencer commented with a smile, twirling the wet strands between her fingers. Emily laughed a little and nodded.

"Yeah, I tried to dry it out but it wasn't cooperating with me today." The swimmer admitted, watching with bated breath as Spencer played with her hair.

"Aren't you cold?" The brunette asked absentmindedly, tinges of concern evident in her voice.

"Not really." Emily answered a little breathlessly. _The opposite actually_, she thought to herself as she tried to calm down. She didn't think she'd ever get used to Spencer's touch, even if she was just twirling her hair. She had a feeling that Spencer was always going to exhilarate her.

"I like it when it's like that." Spencer's eyes moved over to her eyes and her smile widened. "Reminds me of how you look after your swim meets and how you kick everyone's ass." Emily rolled her eyes, smiling bashfully as she felt her face heat up.

"I'm not that good." The swimmer muttered shyly, unable to make eye contact with the brunette. She felt Spencer's hands pull away from her hair and took in a small, calming breath.

"Mm, you're right, you're not." Emily looked up and scoffed while Spencer simply smiled. "You're way passed good. You're breathtaking." The swimmer's heart raced at the compliment and she let out a breath before looking down, her smile becoming embarrassed again as she blushed.

"How can you turn everything I say into a compliment?" Emily wondered aloud, her heart fluttering above the clouds when she heard Spencer laugh in response.

"Well, you make it easy." Spencer admitted softly, reaching over to Emily's hand to entwine their fingers. The swimmer smiled at the exhilarating feeling that rushed through her. Holding Spencer's hand was starting to feel like second nature to her, and she loved it. "That, and I write them down before I test them out." Emily laughed at the brunette's joke, watching as Spencer enveloped her hand with both of her hands now.

They stayed like that for a while, in a comfortable silence as they enjoyed each other's company, but as Emily watched Spencer's face, she could already tell that the girl was struggling to say something. Her face was contorted into the same expression that it had been the night that Spencer kissed her. Determination and, what she later came to realize, fear. But there was less of both, and more frustration, like the girl couldn't quite put her words together.

Emily smiled a little to herself as she waited for her crush to talk. The most eloquent and expressive person in her world was struggling to string a sentence together, and she had a feeling it was because of her. The thought alone made her giddy.

"You remember a few years ago, we must have been like eleven or twelve or something." Spencer started with a smile, her thumb rubbing circles in Emily's palm, unbeknownst to her how much the swimmer loved the action. "And we went to the pool and it was totally empty because of the fair that was in town." It took Emily a few seconds before a rush of realization came over her and she smiled in agreement.

"Ali said it was lame so she dragged us to the pool." Spencer's smile widened as she nodded, glad that the swimmer remembered. "Aria got the worse sunburn that day," Emily continued with a laugh, remembering how red the short girl had been when they went back home. "Oh God, she was peeling for weeks." Both girls laughed at the memory, feelings of sympathy filling them both at the memory. Poor Aria had been in so much pain. When their laughter finally died down, Spencer continued with the memory, smiling a little to herself.

"I remember Alison pushed me into the pool when I wouldn't go in." Emily watched the girl take in a breath as she stared down at their entwined hands. "I was the only one of the five of us who didn't know how to swim. I know, it still sounds crazy, right?" Emily smiled sympathetically at the girl and gave her hand a squeeze, urging her to continue. "Anyways, I remember I was screaming and Ali was laughing even though I thought I was pretty much going to die, which, I'll admit, was a little dramatic. Even for me. I think at some point, Aria and Hanna started laughing, too. I don't really remember." Spencer murmured quietly and Emily felt a pang in her chest at the memory and how it clearly affected the girl in front of her. She simultaneously wanted to comfort her crush and, for once in her life, yell at Alison.

How the tides had turned.

"You weren't laughing, though," Spencer continued with a smile, her demeanor quickly brightening. Emily smiled back with furrowed eyebrows, the memory much hazier for her than for the brunette. "You jumped right in when I started screaming and you helped me to the edge of the pool."

"I was really scared you were going to drown," Emily admitted as the memory became clearer to her. "You were also yelling really loudly." Spencer laughed a little at that and Emily smiled at the sound.

"You were like a dolphin or something, the way you swam so quickly to my side. A knight in a swimsuit or a mermaid in shining armor or something." Emily laughed at the silly comparisons, kind of enjoying her new epithets. "I think about that day a lot, actually. I think that was when I was completely sure." The swimmer's eyebrows furrowed once more at the cliffhanger she was left at.

"Sure of what?" Spencer's smile turned bashful at the question and she laughed lightly, trying to get the words out.

"That I had the biggest crush on you." She said finally, looking up at Emily with a shrug and a smile. The swimmer's eyebrows shot up, completely taken aback by the statement. She was definitely not expecting those words out of Spencer's mouth. Emily had convinced herself that Spencer's feelings for her were a new development - for both of them. She never imagined that the girl had felt that way for longer. She tried to remember exactly how old the memory and chills ran up her spine.

"Spencer, that was – "

"Four years ago, I know." Spencer finished for her, smiling sheepishly. Emily's mouth dropped open slightly, still in complete shock.

"You've felt like this for that long?" The brunette gave a breathless laugh, and Emily could see the blush creeping on to her face. An immense amount of guilt overcame the swimmer suddenly, and she pretty much wanted to slap herself across the face for being so damn oblivious. Her best friend had liked her for _four _years, and she was too preoccupied to even consider noticing. Talk about being a total bitch. "How could I have been so stupid?" Emily murmured quietly to herself, looking away from Spencer and shaking her head.

"Hey, you're not stupid." Spencer defended softly and squeezed her hand, and Emily wanted to smile at the fact that the brunette was defending her even from herself. "You couldn't have possibly known. Not to brag, but I've been told that I'm a great actress." Emily rolled her eyes and laughed, looking back at Spencer, who was smiling brightly at her. "It doesn't matter how long I've liked you. All that matters is right now." Spencer paused for a beat and then looked away, trying not to laugh. "God, I think that's the corniest thing I've ever said."

"Not the corniest," Emily answered with a laugh, her delight only growing at how red Spencer's face was becoming. "But it's up there." She watching as Spencer began to play with her fingers again, enjoying the little shocks that ran through her.

"What we have right now means the world to me." Spencer whispered softly, looking back up at Emily with a smile. "It's the only thing that matters." Emily felt her stomach flutter happily and she practically grinned back at the brunette, unable to control her inner excitement at the words. But that annoying voice in the back of her mind, the one she'd been pushing away, finally came to the forefront and her happiness diminished slightly. A question had been plaguing her mind for a while now, one that she really couldn't answer, and one that she'd been dying to ask Spencer, but only when she was sure that the girl felt the same way.

Well, now she was sure.

Here went everything.

"I feel the same way about you, Spencer." Emily admitted softly, her smile growing at the clear relief she saw on the brunette's face after she spoke.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that." Spencer breathed out, smiling happily at the girl in front of her. Emily stomach did somersaults at the admission, and she almost lost the nerve to ask her question.

"I just," Emily stopped, looking down uncertainly as she struggled with her words. Now she knew how Spencer felt. "I love what this is between us . . . But what is that? What are we? Are we just friends with benefits – "

"No," Spencer answered quickly, and Emily felt a large wave of relief wash over her. She wasn't a fan of the title, knowing fully well how quickly those relationships burned out, and she didn't want her relationship with Spencer to end in flames. But that didn't really answer her question; it just crossed an option out. "That's not what I want us to be. That wouldn't be fair to either of us."

"Okay," Emily breathed out with a relieved smile. "I'm glad we're on the same page there." The brunette shot her a small smile before looking back down at their hands and speaking.

"You know, after I kissed you that night, the first thing I wanted to do was run outside and scream at the top of my lungs. I wanted to tell the world I'd finally kissed the girl of my dreams," Emily felt her face heat up and her heart thud rapidly against her chest at the admission. She'd already lost how many times she'd lost her breath, but she could add that instance to the list. "But at the same time, I wanted to take that memory and buy a box with dead bolts and a huge lock and put it in there so no one could find it and corrupt it." Spencer's voice had dropped to a whisper by the time she'd finished her sentence, and Emily was slowly starting to understand what the brunette was trying to express to her. "I know this must sound cowardly, but I don't want to label what we have right now."

"It's not cowardly," Emily murmured reassuringly with a smile, giving Spencer's hand a squeeze. Spencer looked up at her crush and smiled.

"I just want you to truly figure out what it is you want first. I know this must all be really confusing right now, and I'd hate to push you into making a decision based on just what I've wanted."

"And what did you want?" Spencer's smile became shy again as she laughed and looked down. Emily swore she fell a little harder every time the brunette did that.

"I wanted you to be my girlfriend," The brunette admitted quietly, and the swimmer had to bite her lip to keep from grinning. "But, that's not important right now. I just want you to focus on yourself right now." Spencer looked up and smiled, her face flushed as she took in a breath. "And, if at the end of it, you still want me then, you know," She shrugged a little, looking down bashfully. "I'll be here." If it hadn't been for the fact that they needed to have this conversation, Emily would have kissed Spencer a million times and then a million times more after that.

"I could still be your girlfriend." Emily murmured with a smile, one that grew into a grin when Spencer looked up with wide, hopeful eyes. "You're right, I do need to think about what all this means to me. Whether I'm okay with our friends knowing, our parents, the school . . ." The swimmer trailed off, each option making her more nervous than the last, but Spencer's reassuring smile calmed her for the moment, reminding her that she had as much time as she needed. Spencer would be waiting for her when she figured it out, and that's all she cared about.

"But that doesn't mean I still can't be your girlfriend." Emily almost laughed out loud at the grin on Spencer's face and reached to entwine her free hand with the brunette's other hand. Now both their hands were connected, and the warm feeling that spread throughout Emily made her feel invincible. "We can still go out on dates and do stuff other couples do, but it'll just be a secret."

"I can keep a secret," Spencer whispered with a smile, one that made Emily's heart race in anticipation of something more.

"So can I." Emily agreed with a smile, feeling her heart thrashing against her chest as Spencer leaned in a little closer.

"So, will you be my girlfriend?" Despite already telling the brunette how she felt about her, Emily was surprised to find that Spencer still needed to ask that question. She was even more surprised to find a hint of worry in the girl's breathtaking smile.

"Of course I will, you idiot." Emily said with a laugh, which only grew when Spencer pouted the slightest bit before smiling again.

"Good, because I wasn't accepting a 'no' for an answer." The brunette stated in a very confident, Spencer Hastings voice that Emily totally adored.

"Good, because I wasn't going to ever say no." The swimmer countered with a grin, watching smugly as Spencer blushed through her confident smile.

"Good."

"Good."

"Fantastic."

"Great."

"Astounding." Emily glared playfully at the brunette, who bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Do you always have to have the last word?" Spencer feigned contemplation over the question, Emily was caught between wanting to push the girl or kiss her breathless.

"Well, I always win." Spencer answered smugly with a shrug and a smirk. Emily scoffed and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't always win." Emily stated challengingly, but all she succeeded in was making Spencer's smirk grow. The familiar fire began to burn low in her belly, but she ignored it, wanting to prove a point to her conceited crush.

"Oh, yes I do." Spencer insisted, deciding to raise an eyebrow the way Emily had done moments had done moments ago. Perhaps she would have rethought the action if she knew what was to follow. Or maybe she wouldn't have.

In an instant, Emily had let go of both of Spencer's hands and placed them on the girl's shoulders before pressing her weight forward and successfully forcing Spencer on to her back. The brunette yelped in surprise, not sounding at all like her confident self. Just as she was about to try to sit up and wrestle back, Emily grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them down on either side of the brunette's head. Spencer attempted to wriggle and lift her hands free, succeeding a few times, only to have them slammed down on to the bed once more. She huffed, looking up at Emily as she tried to catch her breath, while the swimmer looked back down at her with a smirk.

"Is Spencer Hastings actually struggling?" The brunette tried once more to lift her wrists off the bed, but Emily had the advantage of being on top of her, her weight successfully keeping the other girl down. Spencer was totally stuck. All she had left was her wit.

"So much for that weak stomach you were talking about." The brunette commented with a pout, her breath still coming out ragged. She took a second to take in their current position and her insides turned to mush. Emily was straddling her hips, keeping her totally pinned to the bed. Her shorts rode up a little, not enough to reveal anything, but just enough for Spencer's lustful mind to wander. If she even attempted to buck up against the girl – her mouth went dry at the thought.

Her eyes trailed back up to Emily's flushed but proud face, her lips curved into a mischievous smirk that drove Spencer crazy. She let her head fall back against the bed, a little dizzy from the sudden arousal that overcame her, as she stared up at the girl that was making her heart race way too fast for its own good.

"Now who's the winner?" Emily asked triumphantly, not realizing what was racing through Spencer's mind. Spencer, in turn, laughed weakly as she stared up at the girl, not giving a definite answer but unable to help herself from thinking that she was the real winner there. And, she hoped, very soon, they'd both be winners.

As soon as Emily caught sight of Spencer's slightly parted lips, she was a goner. Her thoughts transformed from victorious triumph to helpless arousal. She hadn't even realized she'd been panting until she watched Spencer's eyes dip to watch her own parted lips. She almost groaned out loud at the sight.

The internal battle she'd been fighting was coming to an end, and the lustful part was winning, but she refused to be the first one to act. She was the winner, after all, and she wouldn't give in to the way Spencer's warm, chestnut eyes were staring at her, nor would she pay attention to the unsteady rise and fall of the girl's chest as she tried to catch her breath, and she definitely would not stare at Spencer's parted, very enticing, very warm, very sweet lips while they were caught between a perfect row of teeth.

The joke was on both of them however, because as Emily leaned down to connect their lips, Spencer was already leaning up until both of their lips met in a needy kiss. Emily could see the fireworks behind her eyes when Spencer's lips finally met hers, the familiar rush of excitement thrilling her endlessly. The swimmer smiled against her crush's lips, happily easing one kiss into the next. She could feel the girl's wrists trying to wriggle out from under her hands and she smirked, keeping her hold on them steady.

"Uh uh uh," Emily taunted softly against the brunette's lips. "I'm still the winner here."

"I think we both won this one, Em." Spencer murmured against the girl's lips, expertly capturing the girl's bottom lip and sucking on it gently, causing a small moan to come from the swimmer. Emily may have been the one on top, but Spencer still had her small victories.

As their lips met, their kisses becoming a little more heated with each one, Emily let her grip on Spencer's wrists loosen only to entwine their hands as they moved closer to one another. The brunette smiled involuntarily against the girl's lips, murmuring a 'You're so cute,' against Emily's lips before pulling away a little. The swimmer almost protested until she felt kisses alongside her jaw, then her neck, and finally to her pulse point and she dropped her head to Spencer's shoulder to keep from moaning. She felt a wave of heat travel farther down, but fought the urge to grind down against the girl. She was aroused, but that was taking things a little too far.

Her mouth dropped open unexpectedly when Spencer sucked at her pulse point before nipping the spot slightly. Her breath came out shaky as the brunette ran her tongue over the abused skin, and God, she was really rethinking that grinding thought she'd had a few seconds ago because now she was practically screaming with the need to do _something_.

"Sit up," Spencer whispered against her neck, the girl's breath making Emily shiver. The swimmer gulped but managed to come up with a retort.

"So you can be on top?" Was her 'witty' reply, but her argument died immediately when she felt Spencer's lips moving back up her jawline to reach her lips. She felt the girl begin to shift underneath her and automatically started to sit up, her breath hitching in her throat when she felt the girl's hands leave hers and relocate to her waist, her fingertips caressing the skin just underneath her shirt. The brunette's lips curved into a small smile, their lips only centimeters apart.

"Since when did you get so competitive?" Emily smiled, her eyes half lidded and closing even further as she began to lean in again.

"Since I had something worth competing for." She murmured against the girl's lips, closing the distance with a long, needy kiss. She felt Spencer smile against her lips, and felt the girl shake with silent laughter against her.

"You're so corny," She whispered in between kisses, her fingertips rising the slightest bit up Emily's back. The swimmer's breath caught once more, but she smiled and kissed back, whispering, 'I learned from the best,' before grabbing the girl's face with both of her hands and kissing her earnestly.

Despite her silly banter, Emily much preferred this position to the one they started in. She'd learned from prior experience that Spencer was very _very _good with her hands, and their current position was only adding more proof to that fact. Spencer's fingertips were leaving little sparks of electricity along her back, causing chills to run along her spine and her back to arch, bring their bodies closer together. She buried her hands in Spencer's brunette curls, keeping their faces close together even when they tried to catch their breaths. It came to the point where both girls were panting against each other's lips, not kissing but unwilling to move away from each other until they could kiss again. When they did start kissing again, their kisses became a little more desperate, their lips moving against each other with less rhythm and more need. The intensity only seemed to rise the further Spencer's hands went up Emily's back.

Emily pulled away from their frantic kisses once she felt Spencer's hands reach the clasp of her bra. Her forehead fell against the other girl's as she attempted to catch her breath and calm her body down, but that barely worked, considering that she could still feel the soothing circles that Spencer was rubbing against her back and the somewhat minty breath that the brunette breathed against her.

This was so very dangerous. She knew exactly what kind of path they were steering down and what could happen if they even kept going. The breathless pants, the overheated skin, the wild kisses, the timid touches, oh God, she knew exactly where they were going. The thought alone should have scared her, but she found that she wasn't the least bit scared.

She'd thought about sex maybe once or twice in her whole life – sex with a guy, at least. Everyone always talked about how much it hurt at first, and what kind of protection to use and a whole bunch of other stuff. No one ever talked about whether or not they enjoyed it, just if it hurt or not. Sex had always made her nervous because of that and it had never been something she'd been looking forward to. Who'd look forward to something like that after all those horror stories? And she _hated_ horror stories.

But she'd never imagined feeling like this. She never imagined the pure desire coursing through your veins, the longing to feel someone's hands all over your body, the craving to feel their breath against your skin, their bodies arching towards yours. She wasn't nearly as scared as she thought she'd be. She wasn't scared with Spencer. All she felt was desire and need and affection and passion -

And love.

"Are you okay?" Spencer whispered against her lips, her voice a little coarse from their kissing and heavy breathing, but all Emily felt was a new rush of heat between her legs. She moved back a little to catch the concern on the girl's face and smiled softly, her heart melting again at the sight. She answered the girl's question with a soft kiss to her lips, her heart soaring when she felt the girl smile against her lips.

In the back of her mind, she'd obviously known that she and Spencer were not going to have sex at that moment, but that didn't mean that they couldn't do other things. She wanted to make sure that she was ready to take on those things, and – as her body and mind so positively approved – it turned out she was definitely ready for some of those things. As long as they were with Spencer.

She pulled away from the brunette for a moment, trying not to smile at the girl's pout, and let her hands fall to the hem of her shirt. She took in a deep breath before lifting her shirt over her head and tossing it to the side. So much for that shirt she'd been scavenging for.

Emily watched as Spencer's mouth fell open and she felt her face growing hot as the girl's eyes roamed her body. She looked away, suddenly feeling very vulnerable, until she felt Spencer's hand cup her face. When she looked over at the girl, she found a bright smile on her face as she leaned in to kiss her.

"You're so beautiful, Emily." Spencer whispered against her lips, kissing her over and over again. Emily laughed against the girl's lips and pulled away a little.

"You've seen me without a shirt before, Spencer." Emily murmured softly, allowing the brunette to continue her shower of kisses. Spencer hummed against her lips and let her hand rest on the swimmer's back again, which elicited another rush of chills through Emily's body.

"And you're still as beautiful as the last time I saw you without one." Emily laughed breathlessly as the brunette began to trail kisses towards her neck again, holding back her moans as best as she could.

"Pervert," She whispered softly, her eyes closing against their own will as she felt lips back on her pulse point, kissing the abused spot softly. She felt Spencer's lips continue to kiss down her neck, stopping to nip and suck at some places. The brunette's hand traveled up her back to one of her bra straps and slowly began to slide it down, leaving kisses along all the newly exposed skin. Emily nearly threw her head back at the sensations running down her body and in between her legs. She could feel goose bumps rising along her arms and her back, but she couldn't find one reason to care. All she knew was that she was too far gone, and if she wanted, Spencer could have her right then and there and she wouldn't find one single reason to protest.

Emily felt her crush's lips slowly moving back up her jaw and she desperately crushed their lips together, gripping the back of Spencer's head so that she didn't accidentally grind down against the girl. She wasn't entirely sure if in her cloud of lust, she was starting to hear things, but it became apparent to her that she wasn't when she heard the familiar tone of her phone ringing on the night stand. She reluctantly pulled away to look over at her vibrating phone, frustration quickly building up in her. She couldn't read the name, but she recognized the raven hair and could see the bright pink stripe from there. There was no way Aria was ruining this for her.

"Are you going to –" Spencer's sentence died when Emily reconnected their lips, and the swimmer felt butterflies erupt in her stomach at the smile she felt against her lips. Their kisses slowly began to build more and more until another vibration began to sound throughout the room, this time from underneath the blankets. Spencer groaned in frustration before parting from Emily's lips and reaching blindly for her own phone underneath the sheets. "They have a death wish." Spencer muttered as she grabbed her phone and squinted at the screen.

"Please, don't answer it." Emily pleaded, and she knew she must have sounded like some desperate, horny teenager, but at that moment, that was exactly what she was. Spencer looked up at Emily and gave her a mischievous smile before turning her phone over and taking the battery cover off. She pulled the battery out of her phone and the device immediately ceased to vibrate. The swimmer's mouth dropped open in shock before she started laughing as the brunette dumped both the phone and the battery over the side of the bed.

"There, no battery," Spencer murmured, cupping Emily's face once more with a smile as she leaned in. "No problem." The swimmer kissed her eagerly, cupping the girl's face with both hands as they smiled against each other's lips. Soon enough, however, Spencer's hands traveled back down Emily's waist to pull the girl closer, and the swimmer gasped at the unexpected friction at her core. She fought the need to grind down again and have that exhilarating rush of pleasure shoot through her once more and instead distracted herself with another task – getting Spencer's shirt off.

Just as her hands began to trail down the girl's front – the moan that fell from Spencer's lips nearly drove her wild – both girls heard a loud slam of a door from downstairs. They pulled away immediately, panting with furrowed eyebrows in confusion.

"Did you just –"

"I did. What was –"

"I have no clue." Emily reluctantly removed herself from Spencer's lap, biting her lip when she felt just how damp her underwear had become. What a waste of a shower. She lifted the bra strap Spencer had so expertly lowered and got off the bed to retrieve her shirt while Spencer began walking towards her bedroom door.

"Spencer, are you up there?" Aria's voice echoed up the stairs and both girl's froze in their spots. Spencer's mouth dropped open, small sounds coming from her throat as she tried to find her voice. Emily, on the other hand was rushing to pull on her shirt, accidentally putting it on the wrong way and having to remove it again to make herself presentable. When she removed her shirt and saw Spencer still frozen in absolute shock, she panicked.

"Spencer!" She hissed quietly at the girl, causing the brunette to turn to her with a helpless look on her face. She almost hated that her stomach lit up with butterflies at the sight. "Say something." Spencer nodded frantically and turned back to the doorway, clearing her throat.

"Yeah, just give me a second. I'll be right down." She yelled through the doorway before closing her door and locking it, turning to Emily with wide eyes.

"How did she get in?" Emily asked once her shirt was on right. She walked towards her new girlfriend as she fixed her ponytail, looking at the brunette with questioning eyes.

"I – I don't know. All the doors have been locked since last night. I mean, there's a spare key but only my family knows about it and – " Spencer paled for a second before her face became serious and frustrated. She huffed in disbelief, crossing her arms over her chest. "And Alison."

"Ali's down there?" It was Emily's turn to panic at the new wave of information. A flood of new memories came back to her, one very important one being that Alison knew about her and Spencer. She had no idea whether or not the brunette knew about that, but she wasn't going to risk her finding out by asking her about it right now, of all moments. Spencer seemed to catch the panic in her voice and immediately cupped her face with her hand.

"Hey, everything's going to be fine, okay?" Spencer soothed with a smile, running her thumb along Emily's cheek. The swimmer smiled thankfully, and wondered briefly how things went from a hot make-out session to a worried, unexpected invasion. "Do you want me to go downstairs first?"

"No," Emily shook her head, grabbing the girl's hand and kissing it softly before letting it down and smiling. "We should go down together." The words seemed to have a double meaning, but that didn't stop the small smile from blooming on Spencer's face.

"Are you sure?" Emily's smile widened at the question and she leaned over to give her girlfriend a kiss, knowing that would be enough of an answer for her. When she pulled away, Spencer smiled brightly at her and nodded.

"How do I look?" Emily asked, and before Spencer even opened her mouth, she stopped her. "And if you say beautiful, I might hit you." The brunette's mouth dropped open and she scoffed, looking away with embarrassment written across her face.

"I was going to say fine." Emily grinned at the girl and giggled.

"No, you weren't." Spencer rolled her eyes and reached for the door knob. When she opened the door, Emily felt a small rush of air – colder than the air in Spencer's room – and it almost felt like an omen of some sort. She took in a deep breath, and smiled a little when she felt Spencer's hand engulf her own. Silently, both girls started down the hall and towards the stairs, reluctantly parting their hands when they began to descend down the steps to meet their friends.

The first thing Emily saw when Spencer's living room came into view was Alison, reclined comfortably back on the couch with one leg crossed over the other as she studied her nails with a bored expression on her face. Hanna was seated next to her, picking at a loose string on the sofa while Aria sat between the blondes, scrolling through her phone for some reason. All three girls looked up - Emily didn't miss the way Alison smirked at her and Spencer - but Aria was the first one to speak.

"Don't you guys know how to answer your phones?" Was the first thing she yelled at the two of them. Emily winced slightly and looked over to Spencer, who looked apologetic, but the swimmer could tell that she was barely containing her amusement. The thought almost made her giggle.

"Sorry, Aria. My phone was off and Emily's . . ." Spencer trailed off uncertainly, looking over to Emily with a small, amused smile. Both girls had almost been caught by their friends only moments ago. Their secret could have literally come apart at the seams. Every touch, every kiss, it all could have come crashing down, and yet here was Spencer, trying not to laugh like a five year old. Emily should have been mad at her for making a joke of their current situation, but in reality, she was trying to keep her own laughter down as she stared back at her girlfriend's playful eyes.

"My phone died last night at the party." Emily finished quickly, looking over to Aria with a sincere look. "I must have forgotten to charge it before we left." She added sheepishly, trying not to smile at her obvious lie. Aria simply rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We were worried sick about you two. Neither one of us saw you guys after you left to go find Emily." Aria explained, referring to Spencer. Emily smiled softly and looked down, trying to regain her composure before one of them noticed she was blushing.

"Well, after I found her, I went back to the spot you guys were in but I couldn't find you, and I didn't really have time to since Emily was, um, sick," Spencer excused quickly, but Emily didn't miss the pointed look she gave Alison. Alison now had her arms crossed, but her smirk was still in place. Her perfect eyebrows rose just a little in surprise at Spencer's look, but other than that, she remained fairly neutral. "So, I just brought her here and she stayed for the night."

"Why didn't you just take her back to her house?" Alison interjected, uncrossing her legs and moving towards the kitchen. Spencer glared at the back of her head and cleared her throat.

"I guess I didn't think about that, Ali."

"Sounds like you weren't thinking about much last night." She commented absently as she searched through one of Spencer's cupboard's for something. Spencer's face contorted into an angry grimace and just as she was about to open her mouth to insult Alison, Emily shot her a soft look, silently saying 'It's not worth it.' The brunette pouted and let out a small breath, before crossing her arms over her chest and relenting. Emily smiled at the girl and shook her head, unbeknownst to her that Aria and Hanna were watching the two with curious looks on their faces.

"Where are all your chocolate chip muffins?" Alison asked aloud as she closed the cupboard, turning around to face the girls again. Spencer's eyebrows scrunched together before a smile graced her features.

"Melissa ate the last one." The brunette answered, looking over to Emily, who was the real recipient of the last muffin.

"Ugh, bitch." The blonde sighed disappointedly, walking back over to the girls with her arms crossed. Barely a second passed before the blonde smiling mischievously and looking at all the girl's. Emily's stomach turned uncertainly, but she supposed she knew what she had been getting herself into when she decided to be friends with Alison DiLaurentis.

"So, what are we doing today, losers?"

* * *

The girls had opted to stay at Spencer's house for a movie day, since most of them weren't up to partying again after last night, but not without Alison calling them a bunch of whimps first. Thankfully for Spencer – and to an extent, Emily – none of the girls had gone upstairs for the entirety of the stay there. The brunette had never been more thankful to have a bathroom downstairs than that day.

Emily was mostly relieved that the girls had voted for a movie day – mostly, because Alison still made her more nervous than a sinner in church. She'd figured that it would be an easy going time; she'd have fun with her friends and sit next to Spencer, maybe even hold her hand when no one was looking, but it seemed that fate had other plans. As soon as she sat down on the sofa, purposely leaving space beside her for Spencer, Alison took the empty seat with a bright smile and reclined comfortably with no intention of moving. The swimmer had only seen Spencer's face get that red a handful of times. The brunette was left to sit next to Alison throughout the entirety of three movies, only sparing a few glances at Emily when Alison was looking.

Emily hadn't ever imagined hell in her short sixteen years of life - besides the eternal hellfire and whatnot - but if she had to pick a moment to represent it, she might've just picked those six hours.

At around six in the afternoon, after the girls were stuffed with popcorn and pizza and chocolate and tons of other junk food that was sure to bring some nice reminders to their faces, the girls began to leave. Alison was the first to leave – Emily almost felt guilty at how thankful she was – and Hanna had left quickly after her mom called her. Aria lingered behind, asking Emily if she wanted someone to walk home with. An overwhelming wave of guilt filled the swimmer when she refused her friend, saying that she needed to find her phone and shoes first – which, if she was being honest, wasn't a lie.

After giving Emily a strange look, – one that made the swimmer more than a little nervous – Aria left, leaving Spencer and Emily alone for the first time in almost six or seven hours. Unfortunately for the two, however, Emily's mom had texted her at around five, asking that Emily actually sleep in her own bed tonight and to be home before dinner, which meant that the swimmer was due home any minute. She'd also told Emily to say hi to Spencer for her, and Emily almost punched her new girlfriend for reminding her every few minutes how much her mother liked her.

After reluctantly recovering her things from Spencer's room, Emily finally walked towards the front door, with the brunette trudging sadly behind her.

"I'm going to miss sleeping in your bed." Emily murmured with a pout, letting Spencer reach out to hold her hand. The brunette mimicked the swimmer's pout playfully, making Emily smile.

"I'm going to miss you sleeping in my bed," The brunette answered with just as much disappointment, letting her lips form into a smile as she stared at Emily. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'll probably be at the pool," Emily answered honestly, making both of them laugh.

"Maybe I'll swing by. I'll probably be working on fixing the barn, since Ali wants to have a last sleepover in there before we go back to school." Spencer said with an eye roll, still clearly not over what Alison did to them today.

"Well, I'll be there." Emily assured with a smile. "Can I have a goodbye kiss?"

"You can have many goodbye kisses." Spencer answered with a grin, leaning in and connecting their lips. Emily kissed back eagerly, letting the brunette's hand go to cup her face, since her other hand was occupied with holding her clothing.

She felt Spencer walk her back against the door until her back was flush against it, and she moaned softly when she felt the brunette pressed up against her. Spencer pulled away for a moment, only to attach her lips to the swimmer's neck, obsessed with the long, beautiful column and the taste of her girlfriend's skin. Her lips immediately caressed the spot she abused before, and she sucked and nibbled at the already abused area. Emily could feel her whole body heating up once more, and Spencer's body pressed up against her so tightly was not helping. She took in a breath, hoping her voice didn't sound as weak and desperate as she felt, and spoke.

"Spencer," She practically moaned out, closing her eyes when she felt Spencer's tongue run along the abused skin. "If we keep going, I'll never make it through the door."

"Good." Spencer murmured against her skin, making no effort to stop her ministrations. It took all the willpower Emily had to lift her hand and gently squeeze Spencer's shoulder to urge the girl back. Eventually, the brunette pulled away with a sigh, pouting once more. Emily almost laughed at the sight, but she settled on giving her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips.

"Bye, Spencer." She said with a smile, and giggling a little when Spencer leaned in to give her another kiss.

"Text me when you get home, okay?" Emily nodded her consent and finally pulled the door open. She waved a little to her girlfriend before pulling the door shut, leaving Spencer to sigh happily to herself, leaning back against the door and sliding down until she was on the floor. It amazed her how great her life was at that moment.

She walked – practically floated – back towards her kitchen, feeling lighter than air and extremely giggly, until she caught sight of something on her counter. There was a piece of paper and what she recognized as her spare key, which she used to keep hidden under a rock in her backyard. Her face fell immediately as she approached the counter and she grabbed the piece of paper, reading the message that was written with red ink, for some reason.

_If I were you, I'd figure out how to lie better, Spence. For yours and Emily's sake. Hate to see what people would say if they found out about your 'extracurricular activities'._

_P.S. - Thanks for not moving the key. Would have been a shame not knowing that you guys were safe ;) - Alison_

Spencer crumbled up the letter, taking in a deep breath to calm her sudden anger. She tossed the note into the garbage and grabbed her key, before trudging up to her room, a plan slowly brewing in her mind.

Alison was still clearly mad at her for their encounter in the locker room, plus everything that followed, and she needed to find a way to fix it before the blonde did something dangerous. Despite the fact that she knew, deep down, Alison cared about her, – and Emily – she refused to let the girl dangle her secret in front of her face any longer. She was going to fix this, and when she did, she and Emily would finally have nothing to worry about.

For now, at least.

* * *

_A/N: Bet you thought I was going to leave that at a happy ending :) To those of you who always read and never give up on me, THANK YOU SO MUCH AS ALWAYS. You're the reason I've gotten so far with this story, never forget that :)!_


	6. The Ghost of Rosewood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars and all characters belong to their respectful owners.**

Summary: After giving up her first kiss to Alison and being horribly rejected, Emily is heartbroken and unsure if she ever wants to kiss anyone ever again . . . until someone changes her mind.

Rating: **Strong T**

_A/N: I know, I know, you don't have to tell me :( Four months is one hell of a hiatus. But hey, at least I'm back, right? And with 10,000 words! :D Take them as an apology for the ridiculously long time it took to update this fic. Forgive me?_

_ANYWAYS, I've got some talking to do here(as usual). A message to **LaughLoveLiveXx**: First of all, I LOVE YOU, MAY THE SUN SHINE BRIGHTLY ON YOUR BEAUTIFUL HEAD FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. I ADORE YOUR BRAIN AND THE FICTION IT CREATES. Second, YOU HAVE A TUMBLR? Please tell me your tumblr name so I can follow you lol or if I'm already following you, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I might just be following you and I'm too dense to realize it. _

_THIS GOES FOR EVERYONE, HOWEVER. If you have a tumblr, shoot me a message or something so I can follow you lovely souls :) If you want me to, that is._

_Alas, my loves, this will be the second to last chapter of this fic :( The next chapter, which I hope won't take me so long to write, should wrap this up. But it's not the end of Spencer and Emily's story, I assure you! There will DEFINITELY be a sequel to this, and trust me, it's going to be very lengthy :)_

_Also, I might be starting some other projects soon. Would you guys mind voting in a poll on my Author's page here to see which story you'd like to see? I'd really appreciate it._

_And finally, shout out to **dahliadaria** \- don't worry hon, I'm still alive ;) (yikes do I sound like -A or what) - and **chxndelier **\- just for being awesome, and because I haven't spoken to you in months lol._

_Okay, I'm done, enjoy guys! Also, sorry if there are any typos, my back hurts and I'm just too lazy to check for them :/ But yeah, have fun!_

* * *

Emily was almost shocked at how early she'd woken up the next morning. Granted, as an athlete, she often liked to wake up early to go for runs. That was usually in the fall months when access to the pool became harder because it was actually being used during school, but it was summer now, and she usually liked to sleep in until nine, maybe ten if she was feeling particularly charitable to herself.

Now, however, she felt restless. It seemed she just couldn't get to sleep peacefully, constantly tossing and turning to find a comfortable position. Hugging her pillow long enough finally put her to sleep, but it was a poor solution to her problem.

When she awoke the next morning, groggy and more than a little tired, she'd realized, with some hopeless reluctance, the reason for her poor sleep the previous night.

She missed Spencer.

The brunette had been her pillow for the last two nights - which, if she were being honest, were the best two nights of sleep she ever had - and she missed the warmth of the girl's body beneath her and how her the rhythm of her heart easily lulled her to sleep. Sleeping by herself in her own bed was definitely a downgrade, and waking up wasn't much better.

When she'd managed to finally get out of bed and get ready for a very early start at the pool - at least two hours earlier - she walked straight to her bathroom and looked into her mirror, only to be hit by another surprise - this one more shocking, and embarrassing, on her part.

Emily had to rub her eyes to make sure she'd been seeing right, but her eyesight wasn't anywhere near deteriorating and the daylight was bright enough for her to be sure of what she was observing. She lifted her neck to the side, her face quickly heating up as she got a closer look at her skin.

There, on the right side of her neck, was a slightly purple mark just where she knew her pulse point was. She touched the spot softly, butterflies erupting in her stomach as her fingertips grazed the bruise. She smiled bashfully to herself, still in complete awe of the fact that Spencer had successfully given her a hickey. Shivers ran through her body as memories of Spencer's expert hands on her skin flooded through her mind. She could almost feel the path that they traveled up her back, and the little sparks of electricity that followed them, brewing what felt like storms throughout her body the higher they went.

Emily swallowed thickly as she stared longingly at the mark on her neck before letting out a breath and turning to her shower to turn it on. Today was definitely a cold shower kind of day.

After hopping out of her less than lukewarm shower and getting dressed to head to the pool, Emily found herself nervously playing with her phone, debating on whether or not she should send Spencer a text message. She felt so ridiculous, like some twelve year old with a silly crush, but she couldn't help it. Spencer was bringing out feelings in her that she'd never thought she'd be happy to feel. Most of that happiness stemmed from the fact that she knew her feelings were reciprocated, as yesterday proved.

She smiled bashfully as the memories flashed through her mind, before sighing and standing from her bed. It was early, anyways. She could always send Spencer the text when she got to the pool. The brunette could be asleep for all she knew. _Then again_, she thought with amusement as she glanced at her alarm clock, _Spencer Hastings never sleeps in_. It was a quarter to nine. Spencer was _definitely _awake.

Emily bounded down the stairs and towards the kitchen, where she found her mom sipping on some coffee and flipping through a magazine. Mrs. Fields was shocked, to say the least, to find her daughter up at least an hour earlier than she was used to. Emily waved off her mother's inquiries, saying that she just wanted to get a head start on the day. She also waived off her mother's questions as to why she was wearing a scarf in the middle of the summer by simply saying that it was in style, hoping that she'd buy the excuses. Thankfully, her mother did accept them, albeit still curious, making Emily more nervous than she wished to be.

After grabbing a muffin and a banana from her kitchen, Emily started towards the door, until her mother called out to her.

"You're not sleeping over at Spencer's again, are you?" Emily's breath caught at the question, but she quickly collected herself and turned to her mother, feigning confusion.

"I don't think so." She answered slowly, trying to play it off as honest puzzlement. "Why?"

"I just wanted to know now instead of last minute, like last night." Mrs. Fields answered jokingly, but Emily's insides burned with worry and unease at her mother's statement. She swallowed and smiled apologetically with a short laugh, playing with the bag that held her food anxiously. She didn't expect her mother to continue, however. "You know, you two have been spending quite a lot of time together." She said in an observational voice that made the swimmer's heart thunder against her chest. "Are you two up to something that I should know about?" Emily's mouth dropped open as she tried to form an explanation. Her palms began to sweat and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears. Through her cloud of anxiety, however, a humorous thought came to her that Spencer would have been so much better at coming up with an excuse than she was.

And, just like that, it came to her.

"We are actually," Emily admitted with a breathless laugh, calming down considerably after she thought of her excuse. "Alison wanted to have this Labor Day sleepover in Spencer's barn, so I've been helping her fix it up."

"That rickety old thing the Hastings' have in the back?" Mrs. Fields asked in shock, and Emily almost sighed in relief that her mother had bought the lie. A small wave of guilt washed over her for lying to her mother, but she knew that this was better than the alternative. She couldn't risk her mom finding out about everything, not when she hadn't even figured it out herself.

"That's the one." Emily answered with a nod and a smile.

"Well, I can see why you've been sleeping over. It must be exhausting working in that thing all day." Emily only smiled in response to her mother. "Okay, well, don't come home too late."

"I won't." The swimmer promised with a smile before saying goodbye to her mother and walking out the door. She exhaled a large breath once she was outside, allowing the cool breeze of the morning to try and comfort her.

She couldn't let herself get worked up so easily. People were going to ask questions, they always did, and she had to be ready to answer them without having a panic attack. A feeling of dread swept over her as she wondered about how many times she would have to lie until she felt comfortable enough to tell at least one person. Just the thought of telling someone, however, sent another wave of panic through her, and she decided to deal with that at the right time – if there was ever going to be a right time.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a vibration in her pocket. Quickly, she placed the bag with her banana and muffin into her duffel bag and grabbed the phone out of her pocket. She opened up the message, and just like that, the knot that was wounded tightly in her stomach melted away and was replaced by fluttering butterflies.

_Good morning, beautiful :) xx_

Emily nearly grinned to herself as she stared down at the message before biting her lip and typing out a response. Once she sent it, she put her phone back into her pocket and sighed, nodding a little to herself.

_Yes_, she thought, _there will be a right time_.

* * *

Despite having calmed down considerably after receiving that message and texting her girlfriend back, - giggling as she did so - Emily found herself still feeling a bit more guilty than she would have liked. She and her mother had always been close, especially after her dad had started to get shipped out more often. Even so, however, she knew this wasn't as easy as telling your mom you got an F on your last test.

If Emily ever told her mother that she was falling extremely hard for her best friend, - she was way passed that, if she was being honest - she wasn't sure her mother would look at her the same way, if she ever decided to look at her again. The swimmer loved her mother too much to even entertain the possibility of severing their relationship. So for now, guiltily, she would keep her feelings a secret.

The drive to the pool had put her nerves in a bunch, but once she finally got into the water, everything seemed to fade away. She'd momentarily stored away her conflicted feelings about her mother and let her mind drift to yesterday in Spencer's bedroom.

The more she replayed the moments in her head, the more she couldn't believe that she'd allowed herself to go that far with someone she'd only gotten into a relationship with minutes before. She was still slightly embarrassed at how eager she'd been yesterday, but the more she recalled Spencer's gentle touches and soft lips against her skin, the more she realized that she actually couldn't help it if she tried. Spencer was like this mesmerizing siren, her touches and kisses constantly tempting her further, and Emily was never good at resisting temptation.

But there was so much more beneath the surface of their lustful moment yesterday. Not a drop of anxiety pumped through her veins when her shirt came off; not a hint of regret filled her bones when she watched Spencer's eyes roam her skin. She'd pondered it over and over until she realized finally that her lack of fear was simply because she knew that, deep down, there really was nothing to fear with Spencer.

She realized it in the way the brunette had asked if she was okay, soft and soothingly against her lips, and how her fingers had slowly traveled up her back slowly, without any rush or urgency. It was the way that Spencer focused all her attention on Emily, not trying to pry her shirt off or to force her to do anything she didn't want to do. Spencer had wanted her girlfriend to feel safe and comfortable, and Emily had gotten the message clearly. She trusted Spencer with more than just her body, she trusted the girl not to break her heart. After all, the girl spent years repairing it every time Alison smashed it to pieces.

She wondered vaguely if Spencer had any idea that she completely had Emily's heart. Even if she did know, Emily knew that she was safe, because Spencer Hastings would never break her heart - and she knew that for a fact.

Emily took a second to catch her breath while she made her way over to the side of the pool, where she'd left her phone. She'd been so caught up in swimming that she hadn't even realized that almost an hour had passed. She hadn't even realized that there was someone else in the natatorium until she reached the edge of the pool to get her phone.

"Wow," Emily spun around, her breath catching in her throat in surprise and then delight when she found her girlfriend standing there with a smile on her face. "Like I said, a mermaid in shining armor."

"What are you doing here?" The swimmer asked with a grin, watching as Spencer made her way to her edge of the pool. She didn't even bother resisting the urge to let her eyes wander up Spencer's impossibly long legs, which were on full display today thanks to the jean shorts she was wearing.

"Well, if you'd seen any of my texts, which you probably didn't," Spencer said with an eye roll, but melted immediately at Emily's sheepish smile. "You would have seen that I said I was coming over here." The brunette sat down at the edge of the pool and removed her sandals before letting her legs dip into the water. She smiled adoringly at her girlfriend as she drifted closer to her.

"I got a little distracted." Emily excused shyly, resting her arms on top of Spencer's legs.

"I see." The brunette answered playfully, running her hand through her girlfriend's wet hair. Emily hummed in appreciation and closed her eyes momentarily before reopening them and smiling up at Spencer.

"Any reason why you decided to stop by?"

"Besides the fact that it was getting really stuffy and gross in the barn," Spencer muttered, her face contorting into a look of disgust that Emily giggled at. "I was starting to miss my girlfriend, especially after sleeping alone in bed last night." She admitted with a pout that the swimmer couldn't help but laugh at.

"The feeling is mutual, I promise." Emily muttered with a smile, closing her eyes again as Spencer continued running her hand through her hair. "Did you get a lot done?" She heard Spencer sigh above her and almost giggled, but remained quiet and ready to hear the rant that she knew the brunette was going to start.

"I got _enough_ done. I moved the couch in there all by myself." Spencer boasted with a tired, triumphant smile that made butterflies erupt in Emily's stomach as she looked up at her girlfriend. "I guess what's left to do is get some more chairs in there and clean." The brunette's face once again turned to disgust after she uttered the last word. "I hate cleaning." She muttered with annoyance that Emily found adorable.

"I could go over and help you out after practice – or now if you want." Emily offered, becoming quickly embarrassed at how eager she must have sounded. Spencer simply smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her head, and Emily's heart squealed at the action.

"As much as I'd love to whisk you away from practice, I'd hate to interrupt the intimate time between you and the pool." Emily laughed and shook her head at Spencer's silliness.

"Not to be mean, Spence, but I think you knew you were going to be a distraction when you got here." Spencer's mouth fell open in mock offense and Emily had to bite her lip to keep from grinning and giggling.

"I resent that accusation! I simply came down here because I missed you and wanted to watch you swim." Spencer answered matter-of-factly, but Emily could see the amused smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"You came here to watch me swim?" The brunette nodded curtly and that time, Emily couldn't help but giggle before she continued. "And what if I'm done with practice?" Spencer's mouth opened slightly, not knowing how to respond, and the swimmer delighted in the fact that she'd left the girl speechless once more.

"Well, then I guess you're done." Spencer said with a bright smile that made Emily swoon uncontrollably. She was just about to separate from her girlfriend when a devious idea came to her.

"Almost done." She added, trying not to outwardly show that she was plotting something. Spencer looked at her with furrowed eyebrows, but that was mostly all she could do. In a flash, Emily had grabbed her girlfriend's shirt and tugged her forward, causing the girl to fall into the water and into Emily's arms. Spencer let out a loud gasp at the sudden contact with the temperature of the water and stood stiff until she could adjust. Emily, in turn, could not keep her laughter down to save her life as she watched her girlfriend's stiff posture as she adjusted to the water.

"I can't believe you just did that." Spencer said in a quiet voice, her muscles relaxing as she stared at her girlfriend in mostly shock, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"You looked like you needed to cool off." Emily answered, biting her lip to keep from laughing once more. Spencer mocked her answer playfully, and the swimmer couldn't help but giggle.

"I should kick your ass, Emily Fields." Spencer threatened with a smirk, leaning back against the wall of the pool, Emily following her eagerly.

"Yeah, but you won't." The swimmer confirmed slyly, her hands gripping the edge of the pool behind Spencer, the atmosphere in the room changing very quickly from playful to flirtatious.

"And why's that?" Spencer murmured, her eyes dipping down to Emily's lips before going back up. The brunette must've figured out by now that every time she did that, it nearly drove the swimmer to the brink of insanity. Emily's heart thundered against her chest as she took a baby step closer to her girlfriend, closing the proximity between them and bringing their bodies flush against each other. Her mind worked rapidly to keep up with their playful flirting before the inevitable happened.

"Because you like me." Emily whispered with a small smile, inching her face closer to the brunette's. Spencer, in turn, smiled at the response and shook her head, her eyes watching in anticipation as the distance between their faces began to close.

"Damn," She hummed softly, her eyes half lidded. "You got me." Emily grinned and met her girlfriend's lips in a soft kiss that sent those familiar sparks throughout her whole body. She felt Spencer smile against her lips before two hands came to wrap around her neck and pull her closer. The sweet and slow pace changed quickly when Spencer nibbled on the swimmer's bottom lip, causing her mouth to fall open to deepen their kiss. Emily's grip on the edge of the pool tightened as she moaned softly against the brunette's lips. Just as she felt Spencer's leg dip between her own, she pulled away, her breath coming out in short pants as she stared longingly at her girlfriend's lips. Spencer, however, immediately kept busy and attached her lips to Emily's neck, following the same trail she'd made yesterday.

"We should stop." Emily breathed out softly, her eyes closing against their own will as the brunette's lips ghosted over the bruise she'd seen this morning.

"Should we?" Spencer murmured against her neck, making the swimmer shiver. She placed feather light kisses over the abused skin and smirked a little. "Nice hickey, by the way. Whoever gave it to you must be super talented."

"Shut up." Emily whispered with a smile, her hands digging deeper into the pool side as Spencer began to kiss and suck another part of her neck. "Spencer," She moaned softly in a tone that should have been a warning but came out as a plea. As soon as she felt the brunette's lips trailing back up her jaw, she attached their lips once more in a needy, heavy kiss, letting go of the pool and wrapping her hands around her girlfriend's waist.

Just as her hands began to dip underneath Spencer's shirt, the sound of something loud falling in the locker room startled them both out of their kiss. Emily parted quickly and spun around, her heart racing at the possibility of being caught kissing Spencer. Her breath was coming out short again as she watched the door expectantly for someone to walk through it, but to no avail.

"Hello?" Spencer called out, moving further into the pool to see if someone was watching them from the small window in the door. Strangely enough, there was no one there. The brunette turned back around to her girlfriend, who was watching her with confused and startled eyes. She immediately moved back towards her and grabbed her hand, stroking the back of it with her thumb in an attempt to soothe Emily, who really looked like she could use some comforting.

"Do you think someone - ?" Emily cut herself off, watching Spencer with worried eyes before glancing back at the door. Spencer immediately shook her head and cupped her cheek with her other hand.

"I think we would have heard them, don't you?" Spencer said with a soft smile, stroking Emily's cheek as she watched her. The swimmer let out a short breath and nodded, trying to calm down. "Em, it's okay. It's just us here." The swimmer smiled thankfully at her girlfriend, her nerves finally calming down. Spencer let go of her hand to cup her other cheek, smiling even though she was clearly worried for the swimmer. "You okay?"

"I am now." Emily answered, her smile widening when Spencer rolled her eyes playfully.

"Oh God, I really am rubbing off on you." The brunette groaned, shaking her head with a grin. Emily laughed heartily and grabbed her girlfriend's hands, kissing the right one affectionately before slowly removing them from her face.

"Come on, let's get out of here. That barn isn't going to clean itself." Spencer pouted at the reminder of her chore but nodded and let Emily lead them out of the pool. The brunette grabbed the towel the swimmer had brought for herself and wrapped it around Emily, smiling as she did so. Emily was almost a hundred percent sure that Spencer must have been freezing from the waist down, no thanks to her, but the act made her heart soar, and she truly hoped that her girlfriend couldn't see her blushing.

Spencer led the rest of the way to the locker room with Emily following cautiously behind. Sure, the brunette had soothed her and told her that there wasn't anyone there, but it was a spacious locker room, and the school was open to everyone. She knew Spencer knew some martial arts - honestly, what didn't that girl know - but that didn't mean that she ever wanted to see her girlfriend in a situation where she would have to use any of those moves.

Emily watched as the brunette opened the door, peeking around the locker room as she did so. The swimmer came up behind her girlfriend, not only trying to look but ready to protect her if it came to that.

"Hello?" Spencer called out into the locker room, her voice echoing off the walls, and Emily hoped that there wouldn't be a response. Thankfully enough for her, there wasn't. They continued into the locker room until they reached Emily's locker. Once they turned the corner to reach it, both girls nearly sighed with relief.

Emily's bag was on the floor.

"I guess that's what made the noise." Spencer commented as she walked towards the bag to pick it up. Emily hugged the towel closer to herself and nodded as she watched the brunette place her bag on the bench.

"I guess so." Emily agreed unsurely, clearing her throat before continuing. "But how did it fall?"

"Did you leave it on the edge, maybe?"

"I . . . I don't really remember." The swimmer murmured, still wary of the whole situation. She'd been so sure that she left her bag in a way where it wouldn't have fallen. In fact, she was almost sure that she'd left it on the floor . . .

"Well, you know gravity." Spencer said with a smile as she moved towards her girlfriend. She wrapped her arms around Emily's waist underneath the towel, caressing the skin that her swimsuit exposed, and the swimmer felt the familiar sparks that always flooded her senses at Spencer's touch. "Maybe we have a ghost at Rosewood High." The brunette joked with a playful smirk, causing Emily to frown.

"I hate ghosts." The swimmer muttered, struggling to keep the pout on her face with Spencer's hand slowly rising up her back.

"Really? I could have sworn you liked _One Missed Call_. It looked like you did from where I was sitting." Emily's frown deepened at that, her embarrassment evident as her cheeks turned pink. Spencer giggled and leaned in to peck her girlfriend's lips, and whatever abashed feelings she'd had faded away immediately. "You're so cute when you pout."

"Maybe I should pout more often then." Emily murmured, closing the distance between their lips once more, suddenly eager to continue where they'd left off in the pool. Their kisses became heavy and needy fast, with Spencer moaning and pulling her closer. Emily placed her hands on her girlfriend's arms and kissed her hard, the familiar feelings of lust from yesterday filling her veins. Just as she licked Spencer's bottom lip, the brunette pulled away.

"Easy there, killer." Spencer panted softly with a smile. "Let's save some of that for later, when we're not in a creepy, haunted locker room."

"I'll hold you to that then." Emily agreed with a smile and leaned in for one more kiss before separating herself from her girlfriend and moving to her bag to get her clothes.

"You know, I just realized I have no idea what I'm going to do about my shorts." Spencer commented as she walked over to the bench and sat down as she watched Emily gather her clothes.

"Well, you can borrow one of my sweats," Emily offered, smirking slightly. "As long as you don't add it to your collection of my clothing."

"Oh my God, are you ever going to get over that?" Spencer groaned in embarrassment, putting her head in her hands, much to Emily's amusement.

"Probably not." The swimmer answered with a grin as she pulled out a pair of sweat pants from her bag and handed it to the brunette. Spencer took it with a playful glare and proceeded to take off her shorts. Emily turned hastily, her heart thundering against her chest at the small glimpse she caught of Spencer's underwear. She swallowed thickly and placed her clothes in her locker, hoping that the brunette finished before she ran out of will power and turned around.

"Thanks." She heard whispered in her ear before receiving a kiss to her cheek. Her heart sped up, but she smiled when she felt arms around her waist from behind and Spencer's head on her shoulder. "Do you want me to wait for you in the car?"

"You came in your car?"

"Mhm," Spencer murmured against her neck, sending pleasurable chills down her back. "You're so lucky I left my phone in there." Emily giggled at that and nodded.

"I came on my bike today. Decided to get some extra exercise in."

"That's cute." Spencer whispered, placing a kiss on her neck. She didn't stop at one kiss, however, and continued peppering kisses along Emily's skin. The swimmer closed her eyes and willed herself not to turn around and kiss her girlfriend senseless. It was like she was trying to tease her on purpose.

"What happened to saving it for later?" Emily asked with a smile, leaning her head the other way to give Spencer more access. The brunette groaned against her neck before sighing and pulling away, disappointing both of them.

"I'll put your bike in my car and take you home, if you want," Spencer offered as she distanced herself from her girlfriend. Emily was both relieved and upset by their proximity, but she simply smiled at Spencer and nodded in agreement. The swimmer began to reach into her locker and pulled out her shorts, until she realized that Spencer was still there, arms crossed, and staring at her expectantly. Emily raised and eyebrow and smirked.

"Are you going to watch me change?" Spencer raised her own eyebrow and smirked back.

"Is that an invitation?"

"Spencer!"

* * *

Spencer drove Emily to her house to drop her and her bike off. She hardly thought that Emily would want to head straight to her gross, dusty barn with chlorine still all over her. The swimmer promised to come by as soon as she finished and the brunette had nodded with a smile. She almost dared to lean over and kiss her girlfriend goodbye, but thought it better not to, remembering the scared look in Emily's eyes at the pool when she thought they'd been caught. So, she simply grabbed her hand, gave it a kiss, and then watched as the girl she'd hopelessly fallen for walked to her front door, turning back and waving a few times, making her smile.

As soon as she began driving home, worry pooled in her stomach as her thoughts began to fester. Seeing the way Emily reacted only reminded her of the fact that Alison knew about them, and she could do whatever she wanted with that information.

Originally, Spencer had planned to confront the blonde and make sure that she wouldn't say a word, even though the brunette was almost positive that she wouldn't. But seeing how scared her girlfriend had been made Spencer a little more wary of their situation. The brunette wasn't the only one that had to deal with Alison over this – Emily was in it too. It was, after all, _their_ relationship, and Alison could give Emily all the bullshit she wanted if Spencer wouldn't take it. The brunette had waited so _so_ long for the swimmer to see her as more than a friend, and she wasn't ready for their relationship to end because of Ali's silly blackmail. So, with reluctance, she decided not to confront Alison and attempt to get along with her. She'd work to keep her relationship a secret for as long as she could, for her girlfriend, and if that meant bending to Alison's will for Emily's sake, then she'd do it – even if her pride was bound to suffer.

After pulling up to her house and parking, Spencer opened the side door to her living room and froze in her steps.

Alison was in her house.

Not only was she in her house, but she was laughing – rather flirtatiously – with her sister's boyfriend, Ian. The older boy was leaning over the kitchen island and talking to the blonde, a wide smile on his face as Alison murmured something back to him. Spencer was in absolute shock, not so much on Alison's part, but on Ian's. The boy was practically going to be her brother-in-law, and here he was, flirting with her friend like a horny teenage boy. She didn't even want to think about the grossly obvious age difference between them, lest she wanted to get sick.

The two of them didn't even realize that Spencer had been standing there until the brunette shut the door forcefully enough for them to actually look up.

"Spencer!" Ian shouted in surprise, straightening his posture and leaning away quickly from Alison. The blonde turned around, fixing Spencer with her signature smile, but the brunette could see the hint of annoyance behind it. Spencer was internally delighted by that. "I thought you went to the school?" The boy asked, crossing his arms over his chest defensively and clearing his throat.

"I did," Spencer answered slowly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And now I'm back." She took a second to glance to her staircase before looking back at her sister's boyfriend. "Where's my sister?"

"She went out with your mom. I just came by to wait for your dad so we could go play some tennis." He answered quickly, smiling nervously. Spencer nodded, accepting the excuse, and took a quick glance at Alison. The blonde was looking at her nails with a bored expression, as if she hadn't been caught flirting with Ian. The brunette resisted the urge to roll her eyes and began walking towards the kitchen to get some water.

The excruciatingly long silence that passed while she walked to her fridge was perhaps the most uncomfortable she'd ever been in her own house. Only when she grabbed the two water bottles from her fridge did she hear Ian talk once more.

"Um, Alison came by looking for you, which is why she's here." Spencer really did roll her eyes that time before turning around to look at the pathetic boy with a smile.

"Great. Ali, wanna come to the barn? I'm working on it for our sleepover." The brunette spoke directly to Alison, now completely ignoring her sister's boyfriend, who seemed rather relieved. The blonde turned around and gave her sickeningly sweet smile and nothing else. Spencer forced a smile back before walking towards her side door again and opening it, leaving it open so Alison could follow. She could faintly hear Ali say some sort of goodbye to Ian and felt her stomach churn uncomfortably as she walked towards her barn.

She opened the door and squinted as dust flew into her face from the action. Spencer's family only really used the barn for storage and nothing more, but even with all the old furniture and stuff in there, the barn was still really spacious. So, of course, when Ali got a look at it, Spencer already knew that she was going to spend some time cleaning the place up. In the blonde's own words, "It would be a crime not to use this barn to party." That had been a month ago, way before Spencer's relationship with Emily, way before that fateful sleepover, and way before Spencer could ever imagine being more than Emily's friend. Well, she'd imagined it – many times – but she never believed that any of her silly daydreams would ever come true.

"You only have a couch in here?" Alison observed in an unimpressed tone as she walked passed Spencer and into the barn. The brunette shot the girl a look and sighed.

"I only started working on it an hour ago." She defended, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping into the barn. "Plus, this thing was heavy." She added as she sat down on the sofa, putting the water bottles on the coffee table she'd also brought in. Alison sat down next to her, crossing one leg over the other as she reclined further into the couch with a sigh. Spencer leaned back into the couch herself, trying to get comfortable, until she found Alison staring at her with a smirk. Before she could open her mouth, the blonde was already asking her a question.

"So, what did you go to the school for?" Spencer felt a small panic build up but kept calm as she came up with a quick excuse.

"I went to go pick up some field hockey gear I left." She excused quickly, hoping that would appease the blonde.

It didn't.

"Oh, really?" The blonde pushed, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Yes, really." Spencer countered, irritation evident in her voice. "Why?" Alison shrugged, her smile widening as she looked down at the hem of Spencer's shirt.

"Your shirt's wet." She stated simply, causing Spencer to look down at the damp end of her shirt. She cursed internally and wished she'd had enough sense to go upstairs and change her shirt when she got home.

"I must've rubbed up against something." The brunette muttered, subconsciously covering the hem with her hands as much as she could. Alison hummed in response, but Spencer knew she wasn't buying the excuse.

"Well, I just thought you went to the pool or something." The blonde added nonchalantly, running a hand through her hair with a smile. "I mean, that would've made sense to me." Spencer didn't need any further clarification on that matter - she knew exactly what, or rather _who_, the pool was representing. She let her eyes stray from Alison momentarily and let them wander back to her house, where she knew Ian was, probably still standing near her counter like the boy who'd been caught stealing from the cookie jar. She turned back to the blonde and decided that she was going to get the ball back in her court.

"My sister is probably going to marry Ian, you know." The brunette said matter-of-factly, as if Ian had already proposed to Melissa. She briefly imagined Ian signing his death certificate at their wedding and fought the smile working its way on to her features.

"How wonderful for them?" Alison answered in a confused tone, giving Spencer an odd look. Spencer simply shrugged before continuing.

"I'm just saying, if you have a crush on him - " Her sentence was cut off by obnoxious laughter from the blonde, and she found herself becoming quickly irritated at Alison's reaction. It almost felt as if she was making fun of her. "What?" Spencer snapped sharply, and the blonde's laughter died down slowly until all that was left was her familiar smirk.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked, her shoulders shaking with remnants of laughter. "Flirting with someone doesn't have to mean you have a crush on them, Spencer. Besides, I would never go for a guy like Ian."

"A guy like Ian?" Spencer repeated, not receiving Alison's meaning. "What's wrong with him?"

"Besides the fact that he's a fossil," Alison stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's totally in love with Melissa. At least, he makes it seem like he is."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" The brunette asked in a murmur, feeling uncomfortable with the way Ali was smiling after saying her sentence. It almost felt as if . . . She knew something that Spencer didn't - something that Spencer probably didn't want to know. In response to her question, Alison simply shrugged and smiled, and while the brunette felt her curiosity flare, she let the subject drop. She doubted she wanted to know anything about Ian's possible "extracurricular" life, especially if it included Alison.

"So, how's Emily?" The blonde asked abruptly with a smile, quickly stealing whatever power Spencer might've had in their interactions. The brunette, in turn, clenched her jaw at the sudden question. She hated talking about Emily with Alison, and momentarily forgot the promise she'd made to herself earlier, her irritation spiking uncontrollably.

"She's okay now, after that drunk stupor you put her in." The blonde raised an eyebrow and let out a small laugh while Spencer mentally cursed herself at her lack of control.

"That I put her in?" Spencer rolled her eyes, but she didn't take back her words. Instead, she enforced them.

"Yes, that you put her in. I know you said something to her at the party."

"Really? And did she tell you that I told her something?" Spencer opened her mouth to respond and closed it, making Alison's smirk grow in triumph. The brunette felt her blood boil a little hotter at being outsmarted, but pressed on.

"She didn't have to tell me, because I know you." Both of the blonde's eyebrows shot up now as she let out a bitter laugh.

"Oh, right, I forgot. I'm Alison DiLaurentis and everything I do is for myself." Spencer's eyes closed involuntarily as guilt enveloped her suddenly. She dared to open her eyes and look at Alison and found that the blonde wasn't smirking so much anymore. In fact, the brunette dared to think that Ali actually looked a bit . . . Hurt.

"Ali," Spencer started, and stopped, unsure of what to say. She'd never really apologized to Alison before, her pride never allowing her to. Whenever they had their silly little petty fights, the two easily forgot them and moved on to the next disagreement. However, this one felt a little too hurtful to move passed so easily. It was the first time that Spencer actually regretted saying something to Alison, and the first time she felt compelled to actually apologize for what she said. So, she did. "What I said that day," She struggled, swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "I didn't really mean it."

"Really?" Alison asked in disbelief, almost rolling her eyes as she turned away from Spencer.

"Yes, really." Spencer said truthfully. "I was angry because you knew about me and Emily, because you've always known about how I felt."

"Well, it's not like you don't make it obvious." Alison inserted, causing the brunette to clench her jaw. Although she was irritated by the words, she knew the blonde wasn't wrong. After all, Alison had figured it out without Spencer telling her. But, then again, it was Alison.

"I know, but I was upset because you knew and you reminded me you knew, and - " Spencer cut herself off, unsure if she was willing to tell Alison the real reason why she'd snapped so cruelly that day. It irked her that Alison knew about all of it, but one constant reminder had been the real reason why Spencer had jumped on the blonde that day. Alison watched the brunette struggle quietly, for once not willing to say anything while her friend gathered her words. Spencer sighed and looked up at Alison before looking away, unable to voice her insecurity while looking directly at her friend.

"She kissed you first." Spencer murmured, closing her eyes as she uttered the words. Seconds ticked by before she looked up at the blonde, who was still staring at her wordlessly, as if waiting for an explanation. The brunette sighed but continued. "Emily kissed you first. I've _l-liked - _" She stuttered, the word _loved_ almost leaving her mouth. She wasn't ready to admit that much yet - at least, not to Alison. "Her, for years, four miserable years, and she kissed you first. I was angry that she chose you and not me, okay?" The brunette admitted ruefully tearing her eyes away from her friend once more. "I was jealous." The silence that passed between them was almost deafening, so much so that the white noise was driving Spencer crazy. It felt like hours had passed before her friend opened her mouth to speak.

"I didn't know you were so serious about her." Alison said in a small voice, one that Spencer had heard maybe once or twice in her whole life from the blonde. "I just thought, I don't know, that maybe you hit your experimentation stage early or something." The brunette cracked a small smile at that and shook her head. Another silence, this one a bit more comfortable, passed before the blonde continued. "What I said to Emily at the party, I thought it was true. I mean, yes it was kind of mean," Alison admitted with an eye roll, making Spencer slightly uncomfortable. She still didn't know what the blonde had said to her girlfriend - and she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know. "But I guess I thought I was doing her a favor. Cruel to be kind, you know?"

"You must have been really kind then." Spencer murmured, giving Alison a serious look. She was surprised to see that the blonde gave her a look that almost resembled guilt and was glad that she'd seen the obvious error in her ways. The look disappeared rather quickly with another eye roll, and the brunette knew better than to expect an apology from the blonde, but she took her victories when they came, and this was certainly better than nothing.

"So what, are you two like a thing now?" She asked, a small smirk tugging at her mouth. Spencer felt her face heat up and she laughed, looking away in embarrassment. Alison's tone didn't feel threatening now, in fact, it felt friendlier than it did on most days. She didn't think she'd be able to get teased about her crush and actually like it, especially not if the teasing came from Alison, but she found herself far more relaxed than she did at the beginning. It felt nice.

"Well, I mean," The brunette struggled, causing Alison's smirk to grow. Surprisingly, the blonde took pity on Spencer and didn't make her elaborate further.

"Relax, nerd." She interrupted with an eye roll, but the look she gave Spencer was actually sincere. "I won't tell anyone." The brunette watched her warily, as if waiting for her friend to snap out of her kind demeanor into the one she was more than used to seeing. However, it never happened, and the surprise and relief that washed over Spencer was enough to bring a smile on to her features. "Just don't expect me not to tease you about it." Spencer's smile widened and she laughed lightly, nodding along to Alison's terms.

"Thank you, Ali. Seriously." Spencer's sincerity was cut off by Alison standing with a smile and a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get soft on me, Hastings." She spoke as she started towards the door, Spencer turning around as she watched her walk.

"Where're you going?" The brunette blurted out as she watched the blonde turn around to face her.

"To start packing. I'm gonna go visit my aunt over the weekend." Alison answered with a secretive sort of smile, the same from before, but Spencer ignored it once more, unwilling to pry after fixing everything for the moment.

"This weekend? Ali, we're going back to school next week." Spencer commented incredulously, giving the blonde a confused kind of smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in time for the sleepover." Alison assured with a wink and a smile. "See ya, Spence." The brunette watched as Alison drifted away from her door before turning and disappearing. Spencer watched the doorway for a while, an eerie feeling settling over her after watching Alison leave. It almost felt like deja vu, except not really. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it just felt . . . strange - ominous, really. She ended up just brushing it off. _It's probably nothing_, is what she told herself, even if it did leave a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach.

For the next few minutes, Spencer entertained herself with clearing some furniture to make the area bigger. She planned on bringing in a few more chairs and some end tables to put lamps on. The wiring in the barn didn't really work the way it used to, but that wasn't a problem - she'd just run a wire from her house. She'd tried opening some windows, specifically the higher ones, to help clear out the dust, but without much luck. She sighed and decided to go back to the house to get supplies to start cleaning the inside of the barn.

Just as she closed the barn and began walking back to her house, a smile graced her features as she watched Emily opening the side door to her house and stepping out.

"Hey," She greeted affectionately, jogging the rest of the way over. Once she was in front of her girlfriend, she instinctively reached for the girl's hand and held it. The smile that Emily gave her was enough to make her dizzy - but that was her normal reaction to Emily's smiles, anyways. "When did you get in?" She asked, taking a second to glance behind Emily and through the door to see if Ian was still there. Thankfully, he wasn't.

"Just now, your dad let me in." Emily answered with a confused smile, glancing back for a second as well.

"Ian left with him?" The brunette asked, looking back at her girlfriend.

"Yup, they're both gone. Which means that I can do this - " Spencer hardly saw Emily lean in to kiss her, but that didn't stop her from smiling into the kiss and responding wholeheartedly. When they parted, the brunette raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"So bold." Spencer murmured, earning a giggle from Emily. She disentangled their hands and wrapped her arms around the swimmer's waist to pull her closer. "You should have texted me," She said distractedly, her eyes dipping back down to her girlfriend's lips. "I would have waited for you outside."

"I did text you." Emily informed with a grin, letting her hands settle on Spencer's arms.

"What?" One of her arms dropped from the swimmer's waist to grope her pockets. She smiled sheepishly and looked up in embarrassment. "I guess I left it in the car, again."

"It's fine." Emily answered with a smile, giving one of Spencer's arms a squeeze before slowly taking it off of her waist and holding her hand once more. "Now, I'm pretty sure we have a barn to clean." Spencer immediately frowned at the reminder and the swimmer practically melted at the sight as she laughed.

"Can't we just go to my room, instead? Watch some scary movies?" Spencer asked, letting her head fall onto Emily's shoulder as she murmured into the fabric of her shirt. Emily leaned her head onto Spencer's with a content smile, feigning agreement.

"You know, you almost had me until you threw in the scary movies." She answered with a smirk before lifting her head and giving her girlfriend's hand a tug. Spencer groaned in response to the tug and the swimmer had to resist the urge to give into the brunette, knowing very well that Spencer would probably regret not cleaning the barn today. "Come on, Spence. The faster we get it done, the faster we can do . . . something else." She offered, her voice lowering just the slightest bit at the end of her sentence. After a beat, Spencer's head shot up.

"You know, you are absolutely right. We should definitely get to work, right now." Emily laughed in delight as the brunette began to lead her into the barn, a blush creeping up her neck just the slightest bit. At least she was sure that she wasn't the only one who wanted to finish where they'd left off at the pool.

* * *

The girls finished moving in most of the furniture about an hour and a half later. They spent the better part of an hour sweeping and wiping and generally trying to get as much dust out of the barn as possible. It was a lot harder than it seemed, especially since the windows weren't cooperating. It wasn't until a good few minutes of trying to pry the windows open that Emily suggested to bring in a fan to blow away some of the dust through the door. Spencer was simultaneously shocked - because she hadn't thought of that before - and charmed - she was so glad her girlfriend had the common sense that she clearly lacked.

After bringing in the last end table and lamp, Spencer collapsed on to the sofa in surprising exhaustion. She put her legs up and reclined comfortably, trying to ease her aching back. God, she was only 16, she should not be having back pains.

She glanced over at Emily and a smile formed on her face as she watched the swimmer try to pat away the dust from her capris, her eyebrows scrunched together with a small pout on her face.

"Come over here, dusty." Spencer teased, opening her legs and patting the space, inviting Emily to sit between them. Emily looked up and frowned at her girlfriend.

"You know I'll get you dirty." She insisted, pointing at her clearly dirty clothing. Spencer shrugged and smiled, holding her hand out to the swimmer. With a relenting smile, Emily took her hand and seated herself on the space before leaning back into her girlfriend's chest. Spencer wrapped her arms around the swimmer, and Emily smiled contentedly as the butterflies fluttered through her system.

"Thank you for helping me today." Spencer murmured into her hair before kissing the top of her head.

"I was happy to help." Emily answered with a smile, closing her eyes and letting her muscles relax in Spencer's arms. She hadn't realized how tired she was until now, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to get up from there - not that she wanted to, anyways.

The minutes ticked by as the two enjoyed each other's company is content silence, listening to each other's breathing as they relaxed on the sofa. Emily could feel Spencer drawing circles on the fabric of her shirt on her stomach and she found herself dozing off at the soothing action. Just as she started to lose focus, Spencer gave her shoulder a kiss and murmured her name.

"Hm?" Emily asked, her voice laced with drowsiness that made the brunette's heart flutter. Spencer felt guilty, suddenly, for waking the swimmer out of her light slumber for a silly question. Well, it wasn't truly so silly. In fact, it'd been buzzing around her head ever since her talk with Alison earlier, but she'd decided to put it aside for a later time. However now, with the comfortable silence they'd fallen into, her mind couldn't help but wander back to that nagging question. She only hoped that it wouldn't bother Emily too much if she asked her.

"Can I ask you something?" She whispered, trying not to stir the girl in her arms too much.

"Of course." The swimmer answered a little more coherently, but Spencer could tell that she was still half asleep. She smiled a little, her fingers still rubbing circles into her shirt absentmindedly. She took in a deep breath and hoped for the best before asking her question.

"What did Alison tell you at the party?" Emily's eyes snapped open at the question, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of her stomach. She licked her lips and swallowed before answering.

"How do you know she told me something?" The swimmer asked quietly, her head slowly recovering the cruel words Alison had practically spat at her that night.

"I figured she must have." Spencer answered, feeling how tense her girlfriend became. "Hey," She murmured as soothingly as she could, giving the girl's shoulder another kiss. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Emily smiled at that, glad that the brunette wasn't trying to push it out of her. She didn't want to 'tattle' on Alison, but she would have been lying if she didn't want to tell Spencer what the blonde had said to her.

"It's all a little hazy," She admitted sheepishly, letting one of her hands rest atop of Spencer's. "What she basically told me was that - " She cut herself off, feeling a small, familiar pang, less painful than it had been that night but still enough to take her breath away momentarily. "You go after what you want, and when you realize what you really want, you'll get rid of me." A silence passed between them, and Emily wondered what was going through Spencer's head.

"You believed her?" Spencer asked quietly, and the swimmer could have sworn she almost heard hurt in her voice.

"At the moment, I did." Emily said, turning a little so that she could see her girlfriend's face. She'd been right - Spencer did look a little bit hurt. "It didn't help that she mentioned you had a crush on _Josh_ right after you left with him." She added, saying the boy's name a lot harsher than she'd meant to. Her obvious jealousy made the brunette smile. "On top of that, I didn't exactly know what we were. I knew we were _something_, but I mean, I wasn't sure if it was serious or if it was just . . . a two-time thing, I guess."

"I see how it was easy to believe her. It's not like we defined what we were until yesterday." Spencer answered apologetically, giving Emily a sincere look. "And Alison is right, I do go after what I want. But you're who I want, Emily." She said with a small smile, and Emily felt her insides fall apart at the admission. "You do know that, right? And I'm not going to let you get away, especially not over something Ali says." Emily's smile quickly turned into a grin before she leaned in and gave her girlfriend a kiss.

"Good," She murmured against her lips, giving them another kiss. "Don't ever let me go." She reached up to cup Spencer's face with both hands, turning a little more to kiss her more. Spencer shook her head, muttering "Never," against her lips with a smile, the hands at her waist pulling Emily closer.

Their lips met continuously, their kisses transforming quickly into needy and desperate kisses, just like back at the pool. Emily tangled her fingers into Spencer's hair as she nipped the brunette's bottom lip softly, wondering if the girl liked it as much as she did. It turned out that she did, if the way Spencer's fingers dug into her hips were any indication, not to mention the breathy moan she let out that made Emily dizzy. She felt cool fingertips begin to run up her back, igniting her nerves as the traveled further, and her mouth fell open involuntarily at the sensations, giving Spencer the opportunity to deepen their already desperate kiss.

They barely pulled away for air, panting heavily against each other's lips as Spencer's hands traveled further, reaching underneath Emily's bra strap. Half-lidded chestnut orbs stared into the swimmer's darker ones, silently asking if that was okay. Emily kissed her girlfriend hard, consenting with a smile as she continued to devour the brunette's lips eagerly. She could feel Spencer's fingertips digging into her back as their kisses intensified again and was surprised at how desperate she was to feel Spencer's skin beneath her own fingers.

Slowly, she removed one hand from where it was tangled in the brunette's hair and moved it down to the hem of the girl's shirt. She could still feel the light dampness of the shirt, reminding her of what she'd been unable to do at the pool. Slowly, her hand went beneath the shirt and up the brunette's stomach. Spencer's skin was cool beneath her fingers, just like her hands had been, which contrasted extremely with the fire Emily felt burning below her belly. She felt Spencer moan against her mouth and her hips buck slightly just as Emily's hand continued upwards, and the swimmer was sure she'd lost all her willpower after that.

However, as quickly as their frantic kisses had started, they ended just as fast when a loud crash caused Emily's to pull away immediately from Spencer. Both girls searched the barn for the source of the crash, with Emily still above Spencer, both panting heavily as their eyes searched desperately for the source. Spencer scooted away slightly as she searched, the proximity to her girlfriend's body not helping her one bit, and in doing so, found the source of the noise.

There was an entire window missing.

Spencer pointed to the window and Emily turned to look at it, her panic building more with each second. One time interrupted was understandable, but twice? She was starting to worry that perhaps this was all happening on purpose - that perhaps _someone_ was doing this on purpose.

Both girls made their way to the outside of the barn and found that the entire window had actually fallen out - frame and everything. It was the most peculiar thing Spencer had ever seen, but she didn't look nearly as spooked as Emily did. She got closer to the fragments of glass and wood. It was only a tiny window, but that had been one hell of a crash. She looked up at the hole that was now where the window had been and smiled sheepishly.

"I guess I pushed it too hard, huh?" Spencer joked, looking back at Emily, only to have her face fall. The swimmer was hugging herself around her middle as she stared at the broken glass on the floor worriedly. "Em?" The brunette called out to her, walking over to her and putting both hands on her shoulders.

"You don't really think you're the one who broke the window, do you?" Emily murmured quietly, looking up at Spencer with worried eyes.

"Well, it was on old window. What else could have happened?" The swimmer looked down at the question, and it only took Spencer a few seconds to connect the dots between what had just occurred and what occurred at the pool. "You think someone was watching us?" Emily looked up at the question and then looked back down, unsure whether or not she should answer. The brunette swallowed and looked around for a second, trying to find any clues that someone could have been there. From what she could tell, however, there were none.

Spencer led Emily away from the barn and back towards the house, both their eyes scanning the area, trying to spot someone but secretly hoping they didn't. Once inside, both girls sat on the sofa, and Spencer reached for Emily's hand, the action comforting the swimmer greatly. They both sat in silence while thoughts racked their brains, but Spencer was the first one to break it.

"Who could it have been?" She murmured aloud, leaning back into the sofa. "Assuming there was someone watching us." Emily looked at Spencer, then back outside towards the DiLaurentis house. Spencer followed her line of sight and smiled slightly. "Em, I'm pretty sure Alison has better things to do with her time than watch us make-out. Besides, she wouldn't spy on us, she'd just barge right in." Emily smiled a little, nodding at the truth of the statement.

"Maybe it was Jason or something. You know how weird he is."

"I guess so . . ." Spencer trailed off unsurely, unable to come up with a proper explanation. She gnawed at her bottom lip in contemplation before sighing. "Don't you think we would have heard him, or whoever was out there? I mean, there are branches all over the side of the barn, and footsteps wouldn't be that hard to hear, right?"

"I - I don't know, Spence." Emily answered honestly, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. Spencer would have found the action adorable if they hadn't been in their current situation. "But what if there was someone out there? What if they go and tell our friends or parents or something and then - "

"Hey," Spencer stopped her, seeing how worked up she was becoming and how affected she'd truly been by all that had happened today. Emily really was terrified of someone finding out. "Emily, look at me." The brunette said softly, and the swimmer did as she was told, looking up at her girlfriend with sad, worried eyes that nearly broke Spencer. "No one is going to find out about us, okay? I promise."

"How can you be sure?" Emily asked quietly, truly feeling hopeless.

"Because you're who I want, Emily, and I will do everything I can to make sure you're okay - including keeping us a secret." Spencer said with a smile, and despite her worries, Emily still felt her heart stutter against her chest at the promise. Even though she wasn't sure of whether or not someone had been watching them, she still smiled back at Spencer, knowing very well that the brunette would actually do everything that she could, because Emily would do the same for her in a heartbeat.

"Okay." Emily accepted with a nod and a smile.

"Now, how about we go upstairs, where it's much harder to climb up to my window and I have curtains." Spencer offered, a relief washing over her at the sound of Emily's laughter. "We don't even have to do, um, anything," She said sheepishly, an embarrassed smile on her face from what she was referring to. "We could just watch movies."

"Scary movies?" Emily asked warily, squinting her eyes at her girlfriend, who grinned in response.

"Whatever movie you want." The swimmer smiled, standing from the sofa.

"I think I know what we should watch." Emily said with a smile, offering her hand to her girlfriend. Spencer took it immediately and stood from the sofa with a grin, following the girl upstairs, but not without locking her side door first, of course.

* * *

_A/N: Spoiler alert: It's me, I'm the one spying on them. I'm not the least bit coordinated._


End file.
